Hodges, J. & Tizard, B. (1989b)
Social and family relationships of ex-institutional adolescents. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 30, 77-97.
Hodges and Tizard’s research is longitudinal. Explain what is meant by this term.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of longitudinal research?
The participants in this research spent the first two years of their lives in institutional care, before being either adopted or returned to their biological parents. They were followed up and assessed at various stages until the age of eight and were then re-assessed at the age of 16 for this study. A comparison group of children who had been with their biological families throughout their lives was also included in this study.
This makes the research ‘quasi- experimental’. Explain what is meant by this term.
When the participants were assessed at age 4, there had been 65 children. This study followed up 39 children. What term is given to this ‘loss’ of participants in longitudinal research?
Comparisons were made between THREE groups in this study.
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FIVE principal methods of collecting data were used in this study. Summarise them in the table below:
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The original article has a huge results section suggesting many differences between the groups. The article summarises FIVE main findings between the ex-institutional groups and the comparison groups.
Summarise these in the table below:
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Hodges and Tizard also report differences between the adopted children and the restored children. What were these differences and how do Hodges and Tizard explain this?
Conclusions
Outline one piece of evidence that suggests that the problems of disruption in early life can be overcome.
Outline one piece of evidence that suggests that the problems of disruption in early life cannot be overcome.
Can the differences observed between the ex-institutional groups and the comparison groups at age 16 definitely be put down to the early institutional experiences of the former?