The Fate of Abandoned Children

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This award to Brown University supports the research of an anthropologist on the historical demography of the European foundling system of the 19th century. Through analysis of records from a foundling home in Bologna, Italy, as well as records from nearby communities, the researchers will trace the course of the lives of children brought up in the home. The purpose of the research is to describe the lives of the children who survived to adulthood, to provide insight into more general aspects of family and social life at the time, and to analyze differences by gender. The preliminary data show that boys were more disadvantaged by foundling status than girls, since girls attempted to marry up` in status. The foundling system was widespread and while foundling infant mortality was at least twice as high as the general population's rate, many thousands of foundlings survived and became productive members of society. This research will trace the effects of foundling status on later life. At the present time the nature and social health of the family is a matter of concern to society at large. Many politicians, planners and commentators lament the `breakdown` of the family, and the impact this has on the behavior of children. Non-family institutions such as orphanages have been considered as alternatives to dysfunctional family situations. This project studies a comparable situation in the past, and will advance our understanding of the consequences of alternatives to traditional family upbringing. This sort of research is important because it will bring the lessons of history to bear on these current questions as well as making a valuable data base available for comparative analysis.