Child abuse in residential care institutions in Romania

Abstract

The main two objectives of this study were to first (1) explore the extent in which Romanian institutionalized children were punished by the institution staff (educational and caregiving personnel), and then (2) identify the most important individual and institutional characteristics that facilitated abuse within these orphanages. The results of the present study partially supported our hypotheses and several general patterns of results emerged: (1) the probability of being punished was lower for boys than for girls when they were placed in large size institutions; and (2) having many adult persons in the institution that the child trusted increased the probability of being punished when children were placed in a family-type or mixed-type model of institutional organization (other institutions). Taken together, the findings of the current study provide support for the premise that children were punished within Romanian institutions, and children's personal characteristics and relationships as well as institutional characteristic had a significant effect on the probability of being punished by institutional staff. The present study, a secondary analysis based on the Stativa et al. (2002) cross-sectional Survey on Child Abuse in Residential Care Institutions in Romania, with data retrieved from 43 residential placement centers (orphanages), described and quantified this abuse (punishments children received from staff in Romanian institutions) for the first time.