Abstract
The conditions in child welfare facilities such as the residential nursery have been improved, in consideration of their known effects on children's development. For instance, young childrenin such institutions now tend to be placed in a family-like setting ; the quality of staff-child interactions have improved ; and staff-child rations have been lowered. This improved organization has facilitated the verbal and emotional development of children in the first two years of life. In addition, the mean DQ scores of most two and a half olds have increased to above average. As the environment of the residential nursery has improved, the problem of institutional retardation has disappeared. The evidence of the present study strongly suggests that the psychological retardation of young children who have lived in residential nurseries is not the necessary consequence of institutional placement. Rather, such harmful effects were the result of poor institutional conditions.
