Hodges, Jill.; (1991) Adolescent development following institutional care in the early years. Doctoral thesis , Institute of Education, University of London.

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Abstract

This thesis reports the development in mid-adolescence of a group of children raised in institutions until at least 2 years of age, then adopted or restored to a biological parent. These children were previously followed up at four and a half and at eight years of age. They were compared with a group of individually matched adolescents who had never been in institutional care. IQ depended largely on the type of family placement, and did not appear to be adversely affected by institutionalisation, at least so long as this did not extend beyond age four and a half. The experience of multiple changing caregivers during the period of institutionalisation did not necessarily prevent the children from forming strong and lasting attachment relationships to parents once placed in families, but this too depended on family environment, being much more common in adoptive families. However, some long-term effects of early institutionalisation were apparent. Ex-institutional adolescents showed more behaviour and emotional difficulties than matched comparisons, according to teacher questionnaires and interviews with the adolescents and their parents. They also showed greater orientation towards adult attention, and had more difficulties with peers and fewer close or confiding peer relationships than comparison adolescents, again indicating some long term effects of early institutional experience.

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