The Tizard and Hodges Study (1978)

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Eddy Williams  12.2     -     20th September 2004

Psychology

The Tizard and Hodges Study (1978)

Definitions

  • Attachment :- The act attaching, or state of being attached; close adherence or affection; fidelity; regard; an/ passion of affection that binds a person; as, an attachment to a friend, or to a party.

  • Deprivation :- The act of depriving, dispossessing, or bereaving; the act of deposing or divesting of some dignity.

  • Privation :- The state of being deprived or destitute of something, especially of something required or desired; destitution; need; as, to undergo severe privations.

Findings and Conclusion of the Tizard and Hodges Study

The aim of Hodges and Tizard's study was to examine the effect of institutional upbringing on later attachments. Two comparison groups were also studied. Hodges and Tizard compared their group of children, from a children’s home with, groups of children who had been with their families throughout their lives. One comparison group was drawn from the London area, and was made up of 16-year-old children who were matched
one for one with the ex-institutional children on the basis of sex, position in the family, whether they were from one- or two-parent families, and the occupation of their family's main income earner. The other comparison group consisted of a same-sex school friend (of the same age) for each of the ex-institutional children.

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Five main methods were used to collect data on all the teenagers:

  • An interview with the teenage children.
  • An interview with the mother of the teenage children, often with the father present.
  • A self-report questionnaire concerning 'social difficulties'.
  • A questionnaire completed by the children’s schoolteacher about their relationships with their fellow students and their teachers.
  • The Rutter 'B' scale which is a type of psychometric test, which identifies psychiatric problems such as depression.

At the age of sixteen the vast majority of the adoptive mothers felt that their child was deeply attached to them. By contrast only ...

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