The findings in general provide evidence of the ability o f individuals to recover to a large extent from adverse early experiences consisting o f a lack of early attachment relationships. This early history does not condemn these individuals to a future of inevitable psychosocial disability, of shallow feelings and loyalties, and an inability to form or tolerate emotional relationships, extending into adult life (Bowlby, 1951, Goldfarb, 1947; Howe, 1998). The evidence presented here instead suggests that the majority o f these individuals go on to successfully develop close and rewarding relationships with people in a wide variety of settings, and even successfully to build new families of their own. Nor does this early attachment history inevitably lead to poor mental health, major personality or character disturbances (Bowlby, 1956; Goldfarb, 1947). This study suggests that the mental health o f the ex-institutional group does not differ significantly from the mental health o f those bom and brought up in their own families.
It appears that the effects that were present throughout childhood and into adolescence have largely washed out by the time that these individuals reach their
early thirties. However a few clear effects are still present, predominantly in the areas o f difficulties in their relationships with their childhood family, some anti social behaviour (measured in terms of police contact), heightened sense of independence and self-sufficiency, and raised levels of aggression in interpersonal contexts. This constellation of characteristics suggests a somewhat ‘angry’ individual, which is a quality that has been attributed to individuals with this type of early history (Howe, 1998) elsewhere in the literature.
More subtle long-term effects however are suggested by this study. The data showed evidence o f persistent and consistent trends, which are cautiously hypothesised as evidence for a small effect size in the direction of higher difficulties for those with the disrupted early relationship history. This covered areas o f adult functioning such as greater interpersonal problems, more insecure romantic attachment styles, fewer people as their confidants, fewer peer friendships, more reliance on themselves rather than their friends for support. They also tended to have more children, more were on benefits, they had a greater history of contact with medical and mental health services, lower qualifications, lower occupational status, partners with lower occupational status than themselves, and more life-events in the last 5 years.
What this study also provides strong evidence for is the heterogeneity o f outcomes, following early adversity, as reported in many previous studies of this population (Bowlby, 1951; 1988, Rutter et al., 1984, Rutter et al., 1990; Dowdney et al., 1985). Some individuals were found to be functioning above the level o f those without their early care history, which could indicate an almost paradoxical protective function of early adversity. There is some evidence that individuals can benefit from adversity
either by means of boosted self-esteem at having successfully lived through adversity, through learning adaptive coping strategies in difficult circumstances which can be used to better cope with future stresses, or through comparing their current situation with a history of severe adversity by which process the present comes out as better and is therefore experienced as a lesser stress than judged by those who did not have such positive comparisons to make (Elder, 1979). At the same time removal from adversity to a more favourable environment, as for example, adoption, has also been found to provide a protective function, usually by means of the close, good relationships forged in the new family, and the boost that this gives to the child’s self-esteem, and the good opportunities that result from this life-style. It is suggested that a combination of a good relationship either in childhood, adolescence or adulthood, can be help break the cycle o f disadvantage and serve a protective function for the child/adult in times of stress, either through the positive impact that this relationship has on the individual’s internal working model, on their sense of self-esteem and self-efficacy or by means o f social support in times of stress.
This heterogeneity also however means that there are individuals whose outcome in adulthood is below the lowest in the comparison group. This suggests that for some their early relationship history was associated with subsequent difficulties which have persisted into adulthood, suggesting a cycle of disadvantage stemming from the vulnerability associated with the lack of early attachment relationships. The data also suggests that poor functioning in one area is associated with poor functioning in other areas, suggesting pervasive difficulties in adult adjustment and relationships.
This evidence therefore partially supports Clarke & Clarke’s (1976) arguments for the ability o f individuals to recover from early adverse experiences, when these individuals are subsequently removed to a more favourable environment. This later experience can go far in repairing the damage caused by adverse early experience, bringing about discontinuities in problem behaviour etc.. However, at the same time, these findings also lend some support for the arguments concerning the long-term enduring effects o f this early care-giving history (Bowlby, 1951; Goldfarb, 1947), giving rise to continuities in personal adjustment across the life cycle.
LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY