Romanian orphan studies: effects of institutionalisation
Studies of Romanian orphans show how growing up in a care institution, without a consistent caregiver, causes lasting damage to children's emotional and social development.
Real World
Rutter's English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA) study tracked over 100 Romanian orphans adopted into UK families and found that those adopted before six months showed near-normal development by age 11, while later-adopted children displayed disinhibited attachment behaviours.
Exam Focus
Use the ERA study's age-of-adoption finding to evaluate whether effects of institutionalisation are reversible.
Evaluation Scaffold
A four-step framework for high-quality evaluation. Use this for 'assess', 'evaluate', and 'to what extent' questions.
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