Attachment Case Studies Flashcards
What does the Acronym ADDIDDAS stand for in terms of Bowlby’s study of maternal deprivation?
Aggression, Delinquency, Dwarfism, Intellectual retardation, Depression, Dependency, Affection-less Psychopathy, and Social maladjustment.
What was Bowlbys maternal deprivation Hypothesis?
continual disruption of the attachment between the infant and primary caregiver (i.e., mother) could result in long-term cognitive, social, and emotional difficulties for that infant. Bowlby originally believed the effects to be permanent and irreversible.
What did Bowlby state about the importance of the critical period?
The first 2.5 years of life, the critical period, were crucial. If the child was separated from their primary attachment figure (often the mother) for an extended period of time and in the absence of substitute care, the damage was inevitable.
How did Bowlby describe those who didn’t possess the ability to form a strong attachment within the ‘critical period’
Affectionless psychopathy is an inability to show affection or concern for others, a lack of shame, or a sense of responsibility. Such individuals act on impulse with little regard for the consequences of their actions. For example, showing no guilt for antisocial behaviour.
What was the Aim of the 44 juvenile Thieves experiment?
Aim: To investigate the long-term effects of maternal deprivation.
What was the methodology of the 44 Juvenile thieves experiment?
Methodology: He selected an opportunity sample of 88 children attending his clinic.
The children and their parents were interviewed and tested by a psychiatrist (Bowlby), a psychologist (Child), and a social worker (Parent) focusing specifically on their early life experiences.
How did Bowlby divide the children to create a wider sample
Group 1- thief group: 31 boys and 13 girls in the ‘theft group’ were referred to him because of their stealing.
Group 2- control group: 34 boys and 10 girls were referred to him because of emotional problems.
The two groups were matched for age and IQ.
What were Bowlbys Findings from the 44 Juvenile Thieves study?
Findings: 14 children from the theft group were identified as affectionless psychopaths; 12 of those had experienced prolonged separation of more than six months from their mothers in their first two years of life, whereas only 5 of the 30 children not classified as affectionless psychopaths had experienced separations.
Out of the 44 children in the control group, only 2 had experienced prolonged separations, and none of them were affectionless psychopaths.
What was the methodology of Rutter’s Romanian orphans Study?
Methodology: Rutter (1998) studied Romanian orphans who had been placed in orphanages, aged 1-2 weeks old, with minimal adult contact. This was a Longitudinal study and natural experiment, using a group of around 100 Romanian orphans assessed at ages 4, 6, and 11, then re-assessed 21 years later.
58 babies were adopted before 6 months old, and 59 between the ages of 6-24 months old. 48 babies were adopted late, between 2-4 years old. These were the 3 conditions Rutter used in his study.
What were Rutter’s Findings after having conducted his Romanian Orphans Study?
Findings: Those who were adopted by British families before 6 months old showed ‘normal’ emotional development compared with UK children adopted at the same age.
Many adopted after 6 months old showed disinhibited attachments (e.g., attention-seeking behaviour towards all adults, lack of fear of strangers, inappropriate physical contact, lack of checking back to the parent in stressful situations) and had problems with peers.
What conclusions did Rutter Draw from his Romanian Orphan Study
Conclusion: This study suggests long-term consequences may be less severe than was once thought if children have the opportunity to form attachments. When children don’t form attachments, the consequences are likely to be severe.
Note: Dis-inhibited attachment is where children don’t discriminate between people they choose as attachment figures. The child doesn’t seem to prefer his or her parents over other people, even strangers. The child seeks comfort and attention from virtually anyone without distinction. They will treat strangers with over-friendliness and may be attention-seeking.
How can we evaluate the Romanian Orphan study, through both criticism and evaluation?
This study provided detailed measurements through the use of interviews and observations of the children’s behaviour. The problem is that it is not easy to find out information about the institutional experience for the child and therefore, we don’t know the extent of early privation experienced by these children.
Another problem with this type of study is that once the children are adopted, they may not wish to take part in the study anymore, so the results would not be representative.
