THE EFFECTS OF LONG-TERM INSTITUTIONALIZATION
THE EFFECTS OF LONG-TERM INSTITUTIONALIZATION

Summary/Abstract: In the first part, the study explains the negative effects which come from the absence of an emotional climate and of social ties in institutionalized children, i.e.: the difficult and slow development of self-awareness and the ability to learn, inability to cope with their studies, deprivation of the feelings of warmth and of solutions to the age-related problems, the lack of personal relationships and love. Next, we describe the major risks to which children are exposed due to prolonged institutionalization: the feeling of anxiety and fear of the unknown, their handling and treatment as if they were objects, the inability to perceive life in continuity and to establish a sense of their own personality, the under stimulation of psychological and motor development, the lack of openness to the outside world and the ignorance towards the use of money, the monotony of their lifestyle, and the low quality of social relations in general and especially with adults. Finally, we consider that the solution to lessen or to eliminate the negative effects of institutionalization is to provide personalized services.

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