ATTACHMENTS - Maternal Deprivation

Question 1

Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation AO1

Answer 1

• MDT proposes that the continual presence of nurturing from the mother is essential for the normal psychological development of babies and toddlers
• Separation refers to the child not being in the presence of the primary attachment figure
• Deprivation refers to the child losing an element of care
• Extended separation leads to deprivation which causes harm to the child
• The first 30 months of life is considered a critical period for psychological development – if a child is deprived of emotional care during this time then psychological damage can be considered as not only inevitable but also lasting.
• Intellectual development – if children were deprived of maternal care for too long during the critical period then then they would suffer delayed intellectual development as a result of having a low IQ
• Goldfarb found that young children who had been institutionalised had consistently lower IQ’s than children who were fostered
• Emotional development – if children were deprived of maternal care for too long during the critical period, they could become ‘affectionless psychopaths’ where children have the inability to experience guilt or strong emotion for others.
• 44 THIEVES STUDY: 44 criminal teenagers accused of stealing were interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy and their families were also interviewed to establish whether the teenagers had maternal deprivation. 14 of the 44 thieves could be described as ‘affectionless psychopaths’ and of the 14, 12 had experienced maternal deprivation during the critical period. Of the remaining thieves, only 5/30 had experienced separations.

Question 2

Separation in MD definition

Answer 2

the child not being in the presence of the primary attachment figure

Question 3

Deprivation in MD definition

Answer 3

the child losing an element of care

Question 4

Bowlby’s idea for the length of the critical period

Answer 4

30 months from birth

Question 5

How is intellectual development in children affected in maternal deprivation?

Answer 5

if children were deprived of maternal care for too long during the critical period then then they would suffer delayed intellectual development as a result of having a low IQ

Question 6

How is emotional development in children affected in maternal deprivation?

Answer 6

if children were deprived of maternal care for too long during the critical period, they could become ‘affectionless psychopaths’ where children have the inability to experience guilt or strong emotion for others.

Question 7

44 thieves study by Bowlby; method

Answer 7

44 criminal teenagers accused of stealing were interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy and their families were also interviewed to establish whether the teenagers had maternal deprivation.

Question 8

44 thieves study by Bowlby; findings

Answer 8

14 of the 44 thieves could be described as ‘affectionless psychopaths’ and of the 14, 12 had experienced maternal deprivation during the critical period. Of the remaining thieves, only 5/30 had experienced separations.

Question 9

Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation AO3

Answer 9

• Evidence may be poor – Bowlby used evidence such as war-orphaned children in WW2 who grew up in poor quality institutions. But this evidence can be seen as flawed because war-orphans were often traumatised and had poor after care so it would be these confounding variables that caused psychological difficulties in their lives rather than separation. As well as this, Bowlby may have showed bias in his findings as he conducted the interviews for the 44 thieves study himself.
• Counter evidence – Lewis (1954) replicated the 44 thieves study with 500 people and found that early maternal deprivation did not predict criminality or affectionless psychopathy. The MDH can be questioned because Lewis’ study suggests other factors may affect the outcome of early MD than separation itself.
• Failure to distinguish between deprivation and privation – Rutter argued that when Bowlby was talking about deprivation he was confusing two concepts together. Deprivation was seen as the loss of an attachment figure after an attachment had formed and privation which is the failure to form an attachment in the first place. The severe long term damage Bowlby associated with deprivation was more likely to be a result of privation.

Question 10

Evidence may be poor - Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation AO3

Answer 10

Bowlby used evidence such as war-orphaned children in WW2 who grew up in poor quality institutions. But this evidence can be seen as flawed because war-orphans were often traumatised and had poor after care so it would be these confounding variables that caused psychological difficulties in their lives rather than separation. As well as this, Bowlby may have showed bias in his findings as he conducted the interviews for the 44 thieves study himself.

Question 11

Counter evidence - Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation AO3

Answer 11

Lewis (1954) replicated the 44 thieves study with 500 people and found that early maternal deprivation did not predict criminality or affectionless psychopathy. The MDH can be questioned because Lewis’ study suggests other factors may affect the outcome of early MD than separation itself.

Question 12

Failure to distinguish between deprivation and privation - Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation AO3

Answer 12

Rutter argued that when Bowlby was talking about deprivation he was confusing two concepts together. Deprivation was seen as the loss of an attachment figure after an attachment had formed and privation which is the failure to form an attachment in the first place. The severe long term damage Bowlby associated with deprivation was more likely to be a result of privation.