Institutional Deprivation and the Effects on Development

Abstract

In a meta-analysis of twelve peer-reviewed articles, this study asks the question “What are the developmental effects in children adopted from deprived orphanages?”. Using a meta-analysis I was able to compare the findings across more children than previous studies have. I chose articles that studied the development of children from deprived orphanages, specifically from Romania. Once I read each article, I was able to find the prevalence of deprivation among all of the studies put together by comparing statistics. For example, the study shows that the age at the time of adoption may be crucial, as 50% of the studies found significant developmental delays at six months or older and none of them found delays before six months. The delays discussed in this meta-analysis include: diagnosable disorders, attachment difficulties, physical delays, social effects, and cognitive delays. This study finds a significant difference in development between non deprived children and deprived children. In one study, 47% of the children adopted from Romanian institutions rocked back and forth at the time of adoption and none of the non-deprived UK group did (Beckett, Bredenkamp, Castle, Groothues, O’Connor & Rutter, 2002). In this meta-analysis, it was discovered that children who are given more toys in orphanages tend to have fewer developmental delays than those who are deprived of them (Morison, Ames, & Chisholm, 1995). In a future study, I would like to further analyze the developmental effects that deprivational environments have on orphans while exploring the idea that toys could make a significant difference in development. This study is a meta-analysis that compares the findings of a larger sample size than previous studies. It has allowed me to choose a new direction for my future research on deprivation and development, that could hopefully help discover ways to reduce delays in development for orphans globally.