Outline and Evaluate the Research Into Institutionalisation

371 Words2 Pages
Hodges and Tizard conducted a longitudal study following 65 GB children from early life to adolescence. They had been institutionalised when they were less that 4 months old. At this age children had not yet formed attachments. The children were assessed at regular intervals up to the age of 16. Some of the children remained at the institution while others had left and had to be either adopted or restored to their original families. Restored children were less likely to form attachments but adopted children were attached like normal children. However, both groups of ex institutionalised children had problems with peers. These findings suggest that early privation had a negative effect on the ability to form relationships even when given good emotional care. This supports Bowlby's theory of sensitive period. There was another study conducted by Stout, Stout conducted a study of Romanian orphans who had experienced severe conditions and found that they later suffered permanent psychological damage, including no ability to interact with people and increased aggression. Psychologists successfully showed the impacts of institutionalisation; a strength of Hodges and Tizards study was that it was longitudinal so the researchers were able to see how the institution affected the children over many years. However a weakness of this longitudinal method involves attrition, where many of the children may have left the study because they were well adjusted, therefore resulting in a biased remaining sample - children with pleasant behaviour are more likely to be adopted. Some research suggests that individuals who do not form a primary attachment within the early sensitive period are unable to recover, however, in the study of romanian orphans, one third recovered well therefore privation alone cannot explain negative outcomes. Institutuionalised children such as these can

More about Outline and Evaluate the Research Into Institutionalisation

Open Document