This provided a baseline measure at the start of the study. The boys had known each other and could have bonded with each other, which might have been enough. They would have formed an attachment with their aunt and perhaps in the institution, so perhaps it was attachment deprivation rather than deprivation. Case studies show that recovery from deprivation is possible. However, we can never know for sure why the twins recovered more than Genie. The children not only suffered deprivation, they also had little social and intellectual stimulation and were treated cruelly. All of these factors may have affected their development and it is difficult to generalize the results because they only focus on individual cases. These case studies show mixed results on the extent to which children can recover from deprivation. A study of genies shows that the effects may be irreversible and the study of the Whist twins provides evidence of reversibility. More controlled scientific evidence is needed, but it would be ethically wrong to place children in situations of deprivation to see what might happen. Attachment deprivation early in life will harm a child's development, although the extent of this damage depends on several factors, such as age. Children can recover from some effects of deprivation.