Attachment: Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation

Question 1

What is deprivation?

Answer 1

To be deprived is to lose something. In the context of a child’s development deprivation refers to the loss of emotional care that is normally provided by the primary caregiver.

Question 2

What does the maternal deprivation theory state?

Answer 2

The Maternal Deprivation Theory was developed by John Bowlby (1951) and focuses on how the effects of early experiences may interfere with the usual process of attachment formation. Bowlby proposed that separation from the mother or mother-substitute has a serious effect on psychological development. Bowlby famously said that ‘mother-infant love in infancy and childhood is more important for mental health as are vitamins and proteins for physical health.’ Being separated from a mother in early childhood can have serious consequences according to Bowlby.

Question 3

What is privation?

Answer 3

Lack of any attachment in the attachment. No attachment is made.

Question 4

What is affection-less psychopathy?

Answer 4

Lacking signs of affection, shame and responsibility. These characteristics allow them to be thieves.

Question 5

Are the three components of the theory?

Answer 5

• Value of maternal care
• Critical period
• Long-term consequences

Question 6

What is value of maternal care?

Answer 6

Findings from research (including Bowlby’s 44 thieves study) demonstrated the long-term importance of the effects separation has on infants and children. It was assumed that a good standard of food and physical care was the key importance of good care. If children were separated from their caregivers then all that was needed was to maintain this standard.

However, from this research, Bowlby believed that it wasn’t enough to make sure that a child was well-fed and kept safe and warm. He believed that infants and children needed a “warm, intimate and continuous relationship” with a mother (or permanent substitute) to ensure normal mental health. “Mother love in infancy and childhood is as important for mental health as are vitamins and proteins for physical health” (Bowlby, 1953).

Question 7

What is the critical period?

Answer 7

Bowlby believed that a young child who is denied such care because of frequent and/or prolonged separations may become emotionally disturbed. This only applies to a critical period in development. The separation will only have this effect if this happens before the age of 2.5 and if there is no substitute mother person available. Potential damage can be avoided if suitable substitute emotional care is provided by a mother-substitute (male or female). So, separation doesn’t need to result in deprivation, and it is deprivation that has the potential to cause long-term harm.

Question 8

What are long term consequences?

Answer 8

Bowlby suggested that the long-term consequence of deprivation was emotional maladjustment/instability or even mental health problems like depression.

Question 9

What was the key study called?

Answer 9

44 thieves

Question 10

What was the aim of the 44 thieves study?

Answer 10

To investigate the link between affectionless psychopathy (individuals who have a lack of guilt and empathy) and maternal deprivation.

Question 11

What was the procedure of the 44 thieves study?

Answer 11

Bowlby (1944) analysed the case histories of a number of his patients in the Child Guidance Clinic in London. All the children attending the clinic were emotionally unstable. He studied 88 children. Half had been caught stealing (44 “thieves”) and the other half were a control group. Bowlby suggested that some of the “thieves” (14) were affectionless psychopaths (lacked normal signs of affection, shame or sense of responsibility). These characteristics enabled them to be “thieves”. They could steal from others as it didn’t matter to them.

Question 12

What were the findings of the 44 thieves study?

Answer 12

• 14 out of the 44 thieves could be described as affectionless psychopaths.
• Of these 14, 12 had experienced separation from their mothers in the first 2 years of their lives.
• In contrast, only 5 of the remaining 30 ‘thieves’ had experienced separations.
• Of the control group, only 2 out of 44 had experienced long-term separations.

Question 13

What were the conclusions of the 44 thieves study?

Answer 13

It was concluded that prolonged early separation/deprivation caused affectionless psychopathy.

Question 14

A03: Bowbly’s theory of maternal deprivation

Answer 14

+ Real-world application
+ Highlights the importance of nature vs nurture
- Criticised for not distinguishing between deprivation and privation.
- Investigator effects

Question 15

A03: Real-world application

Answer 15

Bowlby’s study and theory had a massive impact on post-war thinking about childrearing and how they are looked after in hospitals. Before his research children were separated from their parents when they spent time in a hospital. Visiting was discouraged or even forbidden. Robertson (1952) filmed a two-year-old girl called Laura during the 8-day period, she was in the hospital. She is seen to be frequently distressed and begs to go home. Bowlby and Robertson’s work led to major social change in the way that children were cared for in hospitals.

Question 16

A03: Highlights the importance of nature vs nurture

Answer 16

Bowlby’s theory and the research of Barrett highlight the importance of nature and nurture. Bowlby puts forward a critical period of development which demonstrates the importance of a biological mechanism; however, this mechanism is shaped by an infant’s interactions, or lack of interactions, with their caregivers. This demonstrates the importance of considering the interaction of nature and nurture when examining maternal deprivation.

Question 17

A03: Criticised for not distinguishing between deprivation and privation

Answer 17

Finally, Bowlby was criticised for not making the distinction clear between deprivation and privation. Rutter (1982) suggests that privation – not having had the opportunity to form an attachment at all – leads to more damaging consequences for the child than experiencing a broken attachment in their early years. Rutter disapproved of Bowlby’s use of the word deprivation for he believed that Bowlby was confusing the two concepts and using the term interchangeably.

Question 18

A03: Investigator effects

Answer 18

However, Bowlby’s findings from the 44 thieves study can be criticised for investigator bias. For example, other Psychologists have suggested that Bowlby’s study had some major design flaws and most importantly bias. Bowlby himself carried out the investigation, the individual assessments for affectionless psychopathy and the family interviews knowing what he hoped to find. Developmental psychologists have suggested that Bowlby may have interpreted the findings in a biased way in order to generate support for his theory. This is problematic because if Bowlby’s findings have been affected by investigator bias, this will mean that his theory is based on biased results and therefore can be criticised as being inaccurate.