The effects of institutional experience on personality

Abstract

It is generally agreed that environment has an important effect on personality growth. Different types of environment produce different types of personality. It is true, for instance, that a higher percentage of delinquents comes from slum areas than from the middle class or well—to—do suburbs. Many children of foreigners brought up in our culture, show personality disorders because there is conflict between the culture of the home of the foreign parents and the culture of the country of adoption.

Children of broken homes tend to show more personality difficulties than those of homes which are intact. So also it may be expected that there will be differences in personality development between children reared in a normal home and those reared in an institution such as an orphanage, because the environment of both differ widely.

In considering the effects of institutional experience on personality development, it is first necessary to understand those experiences which have a developmental effect on the normal child being reared in the normal family. Secondly, it is necessary to see how experiences in an orphanage differ from those of the normal familial home. Because there are differences in experiences, it seems logical to assume that there will be differences in consequent personality development.