Children of the Créche

This book reports the experiential deprivation and intellectual retardation of children from the Creche, a Lebanese social agency devoted to the care of foundlings from birth to 6 years. Begun in 1955, this study explored the role of environment, specifically, the effects of adoption, on IQ. Results showed that the mean IQ for both boys and girls after the first year of institutionalization was slightly above 50. It was found that, as a group, children adopted from the Creche within the first 2 years of live overcame their initial retardation, reaching and maintaining a mean IQ of approximately 100. But children adopted after the age of 2 years did not overcome their preadoptive retardation indicating that experiential deprivation can have severe and enduring consequences.