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New Delhi: Researchers have analysed the mortality data of 431 individuals who lived in infant care institutions in Zurich between 1958 and 1961, and compared it to a group of 399 individuals from the general population, who were born in the same time period and grew up with their own families. The children growing up in infant care institutions were well cared for physically and medically, but deprived of affection and stimulating experiences. Most of their time was spent in isolation in their cribs to protect from infections and infant mortality, interacting with caregivers for less than an hour a day.

The findings of the study are striking, and cover a period of 60 years. Individuals who grew up in the infant care institutions exhibited a 48 per cent higher risk of mortality than the comparison group, with life expectancy shortened by around 12 years on average. Deaths before the age of 40 was twice as common in the group of institutionalised individuals, with the cause of death often being unknown. The research provides robust evidence on how vital affection and stimulating experiences are in the first years of life, playing a crucial role in development of self-regulations, as well as dealing with emotions and stress later in life.

Lifelong consequences

Even in the 1950s, data was being systematically collected on all children in infant care institutions in Zurich, making it possible to track their development and health over their lifetimes. Most of the infants were institutionalised shortly after their birth. The early childhood psychosocial deprivation shortened life expectancy on a scale comparable to the health risks such as smoking. The deprivation of affection frequently leads to risky and health-harming behaviour, resulting in increased mortality. The research has global relevance because millions of children around the world continue to grow up in similar conditions, in orphanages and care institutions. A paper describing the research has been published in Child Abuse and Neglect.