There were strict contraception rules in Romania with limits on the use of abortion and the morning-after pill. This meant that families were having more children than they could afford to pay for.
Rutter studies Romanian Orpans who had been placed in orphanged and had minimal contact with people. The experiment was a longitudinal study and a natural experiment as the children were assessed at a number of intervals through their childhood.
58 babies were adopted before 6 months, 59 between the ages of 6 months to 2 years. 48 babies were adopted between the ages of 2-4 years old.
Those who were adopted by families before the age of 6 months showed normal emotional development comapred to british children adopted at the same time. Many children adopted after 6 months showed a dishibited attachment and had difficuty interacting with peers.
It could imply that long-term consequencs may be less severe than was once thought if children are adopted before they enter the critical period of attachment.
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