Privation and Institutionalisation research
Hodges and Tizard (1989) – how long term are the effects of being in a institution?
Hodges and Tizard conducted a natural experiment. They investigated an experimental group of 65 childrenwho had been taken into care before the age of 4 months. These children had experienced privation because they were in institutions before specific attachments could develop, and once they were in care their carers changed very regularly, preventing attachments. On average, by the age of 2 they had had 24 carers.
These children were compared to control groups who had not been in care.
For the experimental group by the age of 4, 24 of the children had been adopted, 15 restored to their birth parents and the rest remained in the institution. At 16 attrition (drop off) had occurred in the sample: only 23 adopted children, 11 restored and 5 from institutional care were studied.
Each child was studied aged 2, 4, 8 and 16 using both questionnaires and interviews with the child and with the carer to assess social and emotional competence. At 16, questionnaires were also sent to the school to assess social and emotional competence in that setting.
At 4 the ex-institutional (adopted and restored) children had not formed attachments. By 8 differences existed between the adopted and restored children – the adopted children had stronger attachments to their adopted parents than the restored group had to their birth parents. This pattern was continued at 16, although it was not so extreme – many of the restored group had strong attachment to their parents. However, strength of attachment at 8 did predict strength of attachment at 16. At 16, the adopted and the control group were most similar.
At 16 at school the adopted and restored group were most similar to each other; they showed a different level of emotional and social development to the control group. The ex-institutional children were less likely to have a best friend, were more likely to seek attention from adults and were more likely to be indiscriminately friendly.
Hodges and Tizard concluded that with good quality care (as received especially by the adopted children) most effects of institutionalisation can be reversed. Differences between the ex-institutional children and the control group at school show that not all the effects may be reversed, although Hodges and Tizard are careful to point out that the differences in behaviour shown at school are simply differences, not difficulties.
The IV is (remember to state both conditions) ______
______
The DV is ______
Evaluation
When completing this try to use terms such as reliability, validity (both internal and external), demand characteristics, attrition, natural experiment
A strength of the study is ….
A limitation of the study is …
The study has been useful to inform child care practice and policy because …
What the study really tells us, for instance what it may tell us about attachment or about the maternal deprivation hypothesis…