Bowlby and Romanian Orphans Flashcards
define separation
a child not in the presence of the primary attachment figure, emotional care from a substitute figure
define deprivation
a child loses an element of the primary attachment figures emotional care
define maternal deprivation
the long term separation or loss of emotional care from the mother or mother substitute
define monotropy
the attachment to the primary caregiver is of special importance to the child’s emotional development
what is the critical period for monotropy
2.5 years
what is the risk period for monotropy
5 years
what happens if a child experiences maternal deprivation
suffer irreversible long term psychological consequences
which are the specific long term psychological consequences of maternal deprivation
emotional development - affectionless psychopathy
intellectual development - abnormally low IQ and mental retardation
define affectionless psychopathy
the inability to experience guilt or strong emotion for others
what effect does maternal deprivation have on the internal working model
infants lack the opportunity to develop one, or the poor relationship from poor treatment will result in poor future relationships
what is the continuity hypothesis
the quality of attachment an infant forms in childhood will be the same quality for their future relationships
describe Bowlby’s 44 thieves study
group 1 - 44 criminal teenagers
group 2 - 44 teenagers with emotional problems (control group)
- interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy
- families interviewed to establish if there was maternal separation
what were the findings of Bowlby’s 44 thieves study
14/44 thieves were affectionless psychopaths - 12 of whom had maternal separation
17/44 had maternal separation
what are the conclusions from Bowlby’s 44 thieves study
prolonged maternal seperation increases the likelihood of affectionless psychopathy
what is institutionalisation
the effects of living in an institutional setting (where the is very little emotional care) for long periods of time
name the 7 effects of institutionalisation
- physical underdevelopment
- intellectual underfunctioning
- disinhibited attachment
- poor parenting
- emotional functioning
- lack of internal working model
- quasi autism
how does institutionalisation effect physical underdevelopment
children in institutional care are usually physically small due to the lack of emotional care
how does institutionalisation effect intellectual underfunctioning
children in institutional care often show signs of intellectual disability disorder
how does institutionalisation effect disinhibited attachments
adapting to living with multiple caregivers means children are equally friendly and affectionate to people they know well and strangers
how does institutionalisation effect poor parenting
ex-institutional women have harder times as parents, often putting their children in care more
how does institutionalisation effect emotional functioning
children in institutional care sometimes show affectionless psychopathy and are more likely to have temper tantrums
how does institutionalisation effect the internal working model
children in institutional care may have difficulty interacting with peers and forming close relationships
how does institutionalisation effect quasi-autism
children in institutional care sometimes have difficulty understanding the meaning of social contexts
who studied the romanian orphans
Rutter et al.
describe the romanian orphan study
longitudinal study, 165 adopted in Britain, physical cognitive and emotional development assessed at 4,6,11,15
how many romanian orphans were studied
165
at what age were the romanian orphans assessed at
4, 6, 11, 15
did Rutter use a control group and who formed it
yes, 52 british children adopted around the same time
how were the romanian orphans different to their british counterparts
smaller, weighed less, showed signs of mental retardation
what was the difference in attachment style between infants adopted before or after 6 months
before - disinhibited attachment style
after - rarely disinhibited
what were the differences in IQ of the romanian orphans
adopted before 6 months - 102 (like normal)
6 months-2year - 86
after 2 years - 77
for the romanian orphans adopted before 6 months by what age had they physically caught up to their british counterparts
4 years
what were the conclusions from the romanian orphan study
the later attachments form the higher risk of negative consequences, however children can recover and it may be slower development rather than irreversible damage
