2.9. Maternal Deprivation

Question 1

The value of maternal care

Answer 1

• Bowlby believed children needed a warm, intimate, continuous relationship with the mother to ensure continuing normal mental health.
• Includes emotional and intellectual
• Mother love is important in infancy and childhood is as important for mental health as vitamins and proteins for physical health
• Being separate can have serious consequences - maternal deprivation

Question 2

Separation vs deprivation

Answer 2

• Separation: the child not being in the presence of a primary attachment figure
• This becomes deprived as the child loses an element of her care.
• Brief separations aren’t significant for development, especially if left with substitute
• However, extended separations can lead to deprivation

Question 3

Critical period:

Answer 3

• Children deprived of care become emotionally disturbed
• Applies to critical period - separation only has this effect if this happens before the age of 2.5 and if not substitute care is provided, risk up to 5.
• Potential damage avoided if substitute care provided
• Deprivation causing long term harm can be avoided

Question 4

Builds upon monotropic theory:

Answer 4

• Bowlby stated consequences cannot be reversed
• Bowlby’s theory of the internal working model is a template for later relationships

Question 5

What are the consequences of maternal deprivation?

Answer 5

• Intellectual = low IQ
• Emotional = delinquency, affection less psychopathy (inability to experience guilt of or strong emotion for others, they become criminal and cannot understand their victims, so lack remorse)

Question 6

Aim of the 44 juvenile thieves study:

Answer 6

• To investigate the long-term effects of maternal deprivation on people in order to see whether delinquents have suffered deprivation

Question 7

Procedure of the 44 juvenile thieves study

Answer 7

• Bowlby interviewed 44 adolescents who were referred to a child protection program in London because of stealing
• Bowlby selected another group of 44 children to act as controls - referred to clinic because of emotional problems
• Bowlby said some of the thieves were affection less psychopaths-> lacked normal signs of affection, shame or responsibility - enables them to steal

Question 8

Affectionless thieves

Answer 8

• Frequent separation before 2 = 12
• No separation = 2

Question 9

Other thieves

Answer 9

• Frequent separation before 2 = 5
• No separation - 25

Question 10

Controls

Answer 10

• Frequent separation before 2 = 2
• No separation = 42

Question 11

Conclusion of 44 juvenile thieves study

Answer 11

• Affectionless psychopaths show little concern for others and are unable to form relationships
• Bowlby concluded that early separations are linked to affectionless psychopathy

Question 12

Strength: RWA

Answer 12

• Impact on post war hospital visits
• Robertson filmed a 2 yrs old during an 8 day period in hospital.
• She is seen to be frequently distressed and begs to go home.
• This works along with Bowlby, led to the change in the way children are treated in hospital.

Question 13

Weakness: evidence in flawed

Answer 13

• 44 juvenile thieves study is flawed and open to bias
• Bowlby himself assessed both deprivation and psychopathy knowing what he hoped to find - researcher bias
• Goldfarb’s study of wartime orphans is flawed because he used traumatised ppts who lacked good aftercare - confounding variables
• This means Bowlby originally had no solid evidence on which to base his theory of maternal deprivation
• But research with rats shows short separations can harm social development. This means that there is now some evidence for the theory of maternal deprivation after all.

Question 14

Weakness: deprivation vs privation

Answer 14

• Michael Rutter suggested Bowlby might have got confused with concept of deprivation
• Rutter distinguished between privation and deprivation
• Privation: the failure to form any attachment in the first place
• Deprivation: the loss of a primary attachment figure after attachment has developed

Question 15

Weakness: critical period is more of a sensitive period

Answer 15

• Czech twins fully recovered after being looked after from age 7 by two loving adults, therefore critical period is not critical
• Aged 2: identical twin boys locked in cellar and abused for 6 yrs leading to physical and linguistic problems
• Aged 7: adopted into a loving family
• Aged 14: normal behaviour
• Aged 20: emotionally and socially stable with above average intelligence