Bowlby's MDH

Question 1

What acronym can be used to remember Bowlby’s MDH?

Answer 1

• MSLE
• My Selfie Looks Excellent
• Mother Love, Seperation from mother, Long term consequences, Effects are irreversible

Question 2

What was stage one of Bowlby’s MDH?

Answer 2

Mother love in infancy is just as important for a child’s mental health as vitamins and minerals are for physical health

Question 3

What was stage two of Bowlby’s MDH?

Answer 3

Seperation from the mother (maternal deprivation) would - he believed - result in severe damage to a child’s social, emotional and cognitive development

Question 4

What was stage three of Bowlby’s MDH?

Answer 4

Maternal deprivation could potentially lead to a number of long-term effects including:

• Affectionless psychopathy
• Developmental retardation
• Delinquency
• Increased aggression
• Depression

Question 5

What is affectionless psychopathy?

Answer 5

An inability to show affection or concern for others. Such individuals act on impulse with little regard for the consequences of their actions. For example, showing no guilt for antisocial behaviour

Question 6

What is developmental retardation

Answer 6

There is a critical period for sustained intellectual development. Deprivation could lead to significantly impaired intellectual and adaptive functioning throughout life ie. they will become underachievers

Question 7

Describe Goldfarbs research into developmental retardation

Answer 7

• Studied 2 groups of children: those who spent a few months in an orphanage before being fostered and those who spent 3 years there (little chance to form attachment in early life)
• both groups tested until age 12
• the study found that those who had spent longer in an orphanage performed worse on IQ test, were less social and more likely to be aggressive

Question 8

What is delinquency?

Answer 8

Tendency to commit minor crimes e.g. trespassing, vandalism, shoplifting. If a child is deprived of their caregiver, Bowlby suggested they might turn to crime to compensate for their lost relationship

Question 9

What is increased aggression?

What is depression?

Answer 9

• Displaying antisocial behaviour towards others

- low mood, withdrawal from activities,disinterest, disengaged from others

Question 10

What was stage four of Bowlby’s MDH?

Answer 10

The effects of maternal deprivation are irreversible and could not be counteracted by later care i.e. once the damage is done there is no going back

Question 11

Summarise evaluations of Bowlby’s MDH

Answer 11

• research to support - Bowlby’s 44 thieves - 16 affectionless psychopaths - 87% had experienced deprivations - compared to 4% of non-thieves
• methodological issues - study is correlation + Bowlby carried study out
• contradictory evidence - Hetherington + Stanley - only 25% of children with divorcing parents experience long term adjustment problems
• practical applications - mothers in prisons
• what is deprivation? Difference between deprivation (attachment lost) and privation (attachment never there)