Attachment - Bowlbys Theory Of Maternal Deprivation & Romanian Orphan Studies Flashcards
Define the term maternal deprivation (2)
-the emotional and intellectual consequences of extended separation between a child and their mother or mother substitute
-where a child loses an aspect of care within the critical period
How does Bowlby suggest that maternal deprivation occurs?
-continued nurture from a mother or mother substitute within the first 2.5 years of life (critical period) is important for healthy psychological development
What happens if a child has a period of extended separation from the mother within the critical period?
-if an element of care is lost, it could lead to physiological damage which is inevitable and irreversible
What are the 2 kinds of psychological damage?
-intellectual and emotional
What is intellectual damage?
-this includes cognitive impairment such as an intellectual delay, shown by an abnormally low IQ
-Goldfarb found lower IQ in children who had remained in institutions (less emotional care) compared to those who had been fostered (more emotional care)
What is emotional damage?
-this includes affectionless psychopathy, which is the inability to experience guilt or strong emotion for others
-this prevents the person developing normal relationships and is associated with criminality. affectionless psychopaths also lack remorse (can’t appreciate the feelings of victims)
What would happen alongside intellectual and emotional damage?
-children would fail to develop a positive and healthy internal working model, meaning that their ability to form relationships during childhood, adolescence and during adulthood would be impacted
Evaluate Bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation
-has practical applications
-above point can be linked to positive economic implications
-evidence to support affectionless psychopathy (44 juvenile thieves)
-retrospective data
Explain how Bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation has been supported by the study of 44 juvenile thieves
-bowlby interviewed an opportunity sample of 44 juvenile thieves to see if they had signs of affectionless psychopathy and then interviewed their parents for any periods of extended separation within the critical period
-found that those who had extended separations where an element of care was lost were more likely to have affectionless psychopathy
-proves prolonged separation can lead to negative consequences
Explain how Bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation has retrospective data
-retrospective data (looking back)
-relies on the memory of the juveniles parents to recall the periods of seperation in childhood
-they could have recalled inaccurate info from their past or simply forgotten it
-reduces internal validity
Explain how Bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation has practical applications
-practical applications
-principles of Bowlbys theory were that when a child had a period of extended separation from their female primary CG during the critical period, this had psychological consequences
-this has led to changes in healthcare organisations in society e.g. visiting times in hospitals and allow family to stay overnight which will reduce psychological consequences (intellectual damage including intellectual delay, emotional damage including affectionless psychopathy)
-important part of applied psychology which increases the credibility into the research into the 44 thieves
How can Bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation having prac apps be linked to positive economic implications
-less criminal activity will save taxpayers money due to the reduction of court cases and demand on prison services
What is institutionalisation?
-refers to children spending a long period of time living outside the family home within an institution e.g an orphanage
-this can result in a loss of personal identity and the child adopting the rules and norms of the institution that can impair cognitive functioning
What are the 3 effects of institutionalisation?
-reactive attachment disorder
-disinhibited attachment
-cognitive impairment
Describe reactive attachment disorder (RAD)
-extreme lack of sensitive responsiveness from a parent in early life can lead to a child growing up unable to trust or love others
-they become isolated and very selfish
-they are unable to understand the needs of others and can become sociopathic without a conscience (lack of remorse)
Describe disinhibited attachment
-children indiscriminately select attachment figures and behave in an overly familiar fashion with strangers
-often overly friendly and affectionate
-caused by long periods of institutionalised care in early life as children may have to adapt to having multiple inconsistent CG’s during their critical period
-they often display attention seeking behaviours
Describe cognitive impairment
-a delay in intellectual development
-an individual will have a low IQ and problems with concentration
-difficulty learning new concepts
-may have a low reading age in school or easily distracted
Who conducted Romanian orphan studies into the effects of institutionalisation
Rutter Et Al (1998)
What was Rutter’s aim in his Romanian orphan studies research?
-to investigate whether loving and nurturing care could overturn the effects of institutionalisation the children had suffered in Romanian orphanages (as they were handed over by loving and caring parents who couldn’t afford to have them)
What was Rutters method?
Longitudinal natural experiment
What was Rutters sample?
-111 Romanian orphans who were adopted into British families in a longitudinal study
What was the IV in Rutters research?
The age of adoption
What was the DV in Rutters research?
The child’s development (cognitive and emotional)
What 3 groups did Rutter study?
-adopted before 6 months
-adopted between 6 months and 2 years
-adopted after the age of 2 (late adoptees)
At what ages was emotional and cognitive development assessed?
4,6,11 and 15
Who were the Romanian orphans compared to?
A control group of 52 British children
Describe Rutters procedure
-age of adoption was the IV and child’s cognitive and emotional development was the DV
-Rutter studied 3 groups, adopted before 6 months, adopted between 6 months and 2 years, and late adoptees
-the Romanian orphans were compared to a control group or 52 British adopted children
-emotional and cognitive development was assessed at ages 4,6,11 and 15 (longitudinal)
What were the findings of Rutters research into Romanian orphans?
-at initial assessment (when they first arrived in the UK), 50% were severely undernourished and showed signs of cognitive impairment
-by 4 years, orphans who were adopted before 6 months were doing as well as the British adopted children (control group)
-those adopted later (late adoptees) had a high level of disinhibited attachment
-by the age of 11, late adoptees had a lower IQ (77) than those adopted before 6 months (102) , showing cognitive impairment
What was the conclusion of Rutters research into Romanian orphans?
-some negative effects of institutionalisation can be overcome by sensitive, nurturing care, more so if adoption takes place earlier
Evaluate Romanian Orphan Studies & the effects of institutionalisation
-prac apps
-high control over EV’s
-RTS- Rutter
-may not be representative
Explain how research into the effects of institutionalisation has practical applications
-prac apps
-principles of theory of institutionalisation leads to psychological problems has led to an improvement in conditions experienced by children growing up outside their family home
-e.g children’s homes have 1/2 key workers rather than multiple inconsistent CGs to reduce the effects of institutionalisation
-important part of applied psychology and increases the research’s credibility
Explain how Rutters Romanian orphans research has high control over EVs
-higher control over EVs than other orphan studies where children previously experienced trauma, neglect, abuse or bereavement before being institutionalised and ur was difficult to tell the cause of long term effects (neglect or institutionalisation)
-in Rutters research, most orphans were handed over by loving parents who couldn’t afford to keep them
-possible to study without this confounding variable
-increases internal validity
Explain how Rutters Romanian orphan studies supports the effects of institutionalisation
-compared 111 Romanian orphans with control group os 52 British adopted children, assessed development at age 4,6,11,15
-found that by age 4, late adoptees had higher levels of disinhibited attachment and by age 11 had lower IQ (77)showing cognitive impairment
-however those adopted before 6 months were doing as well as British children and had a normal IQ by age 11 (102)
-institutionalisation can have a very damaging effect on emotional, cognitive, physical and intellectual development but can be overcome by sensitive nurturing care and if adoption takes place earlier
-increases the validity
Explain a counterarguement for research into the effects of institutionalisation
-might not be representative of all institutions
-in Romania, the quality of care in these institutions was very poor with children receiving very little intel,evtual stimulation or comfort
-the harmful effects seen in the study of Romanian orphans may be due to poor institutional care and unique to Romanian orphans
-may not generalise outside Romania, lowering external validity
