Do the effects of early severe deprivation on cognition persist into early adolescence? Findings from the English and Romanian adoptees study

Cognitive outcomes at age 11 of 131 Romanian adoptees from institutions were compared with 50 U.K. adopted children. Key findings were of both continuity and change: (1) marked adverse effects persisted at age 11 for many of the children who were over 6 months on arrival; (2) there was some catch-up between ages 6 and 11 for the bottom 15%; (3) there was a decrease of 15 points for those over 6 months on arrival, but no differentiation within the 6-42-month range; (4) there was marked heterogeneity of outcome but this was not associated with the educational background of the adoptive families. The findings draw attention to the psychological as well as physical risks of institutional deprivation.     

General Media and Media-Related

William L. Rivers, Theodore Peterson and Jay W. Jensen's The Mass Media and Modern Society (Rinehart Press, $8.95)

Ronald T. Farrar and John D. Stevens' (eds.) Mass Media and the National Experience (Harper & Row, price not known (paper back))

Bernard Rosenberg and David Manning White's Mass Culture Revisited (Van Nostrand, both hardback and paperback at same time–price not yet known)

Wilbur Schramm (ed.) Process and Effects of Mass Communications (University of Illinois Press, details unknown)

The Steranko History of Comics (Supergraphics Publications, 501 Spruce St., Reading, Pa. 19602, $3.00 paperback)