Effects of qualities of early institutional care on cognitive attainment. E.R.A. Study Team. English and Romanian Adoptees.
The adoption of children reared in poor quality Romanian institutions provided a "natural experiment" to determine whether psychological privation is the cause of later deficits. Low IQ at six years was strongly related to the duration of institutional care, with malnutrition having a weaker effect. After taking both into account, there was an additional effect of a particularly marked lack of individualized care.
Castle
J
J
MRC Child Psychiatry Unit, Institute of Psychiatry, London.
Groothues
C
C
Bredenkamp
D
D
Beckett
C
C
O'Connor
T
T
Rutter
M
M
D002654:Child Care / Q000592:standards*; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002668:Child Rearing; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009748:Nutrition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D012112:Residential Facilities / Q000592:standards*; D012189:Retrospective Studies