Institutions do not encourage children to become attached to a significant adult. The consequences include:
- poor self-confidence, low self-worth and esteem
- lack of empathy and understanding of others
- indiscriminate affection toward adults and lack of understanding of appropriate boundaries
- aggression towards others, cruelty to animals; negative and anti-social behaviours
- stereotypical behaviours, self-stimulation and self-harming
- poor cognitive development, academic underachievement
- poor moral development (difficulty understanding right and wrong)
- problems with relationships in childhood and adulthood
- delinquent behaviour in adolescence and young adulthood
Source: Deinstitutionalising and transforming children’s services. A guide to good practice, European Commission Daphne Programme July 2007