Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation

Question 1

What is deprivation?

Answer 1

When attachment bond is formed between infant and caregiver but then broken later in life

Question 2

What is separation?

Answer 2

Absence of primary caregiver for short period of time

Question 3

What is privation?

Answer 3

When children do not form an attachment with anyone

Question 4

Describe an infant’s response to separation (PDD)

Answer 4

1. Protest
   - Intense crying, panicked, angry
2. Despair
   - Loss of hope, little interest in surroundings, engages in self-conforming behaviour
3. Detachment
   - Less distressed if caregiver returns, infant doesn’t respond and shows anger

Question 5

Describe Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation(5)

Answer 5

• Believed that attachment = essential for healthy social & emotional development of children
• Deprivation of this = negative effects on social, intellectual and emotional development
• Loss or prolonged separation from attachment figure during critical period = emotional disturbance
• Only cause this if separation occurred before ages of 2.5 & if there was no mother substitute
• Maternal deprivation long term effects:
  +Inability to form bonds with other people
  +Avoidant/dismissive attachment type
  + Higher risk of depression

Question 6

What is maternal deprivation? What is notable about it?

Answer 6

that continual disruption of the attachment between 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.

Question 7

When are the effects of maternal deprivation most likely to occur? What is this called? What causes maternal deprivation?

Answer 7

He argued that 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 damage was inevitable.

Question 8

What are the effects of maternal deprivation? (8) How do we remember these?

Answer 8

Use the acronym - ADDIDDAS to remember the effects of maternal deprivation: Aggression, Delinquency, Dwarfism, Intellectual retardation, Depression, Dependency, Affectionless Psychopathy, Social maladjustment.

Question 9

What is affectionless psychopathy? How do such individuals behave?

Answer 9

Affectionless psychopathy is an inability show affection or concern for others, lack of shame or sense of responsibility. Such individuals act on impulse with little regard for the consequences of their actions. For example, showing no guilt for antisocial behavior.

Question 10

Who was Bowlby? (3) What was his study called?

Answer 10

• 44 Juvenile Thieves
• Bowlby was a psychoanalyst and psychiatrist,
• working at the London Child Guidance Clinic in the 1930s and 1940s.

Question 11

44 juvenile thieves
What was the aim?
Who were his sample? How were they selected?

Answer 11

• To see if early separation from primary caregiver was associated with behaviour disorder
  Behaviour disorder = affectionless psychopathy
• He selected an opportunity sample of 88 children attending his clinic

Question 12

Bowlbys maternal deprivation study
Which groups were the sample split into? (2) What was the makeup of each group? (2,2) Why was each group referred to him?

Answer 12

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.

Question 13

How were the two groups matched?

Answer 13

The two groups were matched for age and IQ.

Question 14

What was the procedure of bowlbys study on maternal deprivation?

Answer 14

The children and their parents were interviewed and tested by a psychiatrist (Bowlby), a psychologist and a social worker focusing specifically on their early life experiences.

Question 15

What were the findings? (4)

Answer 15

• 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.

Question 16

Describe the conclusion of bowlbys study on 44 Juvenal theives (2)

Answer 16

• Link between early separations and later social maladjustment
• Maternal deprivation hypothesis leads to affection less psychopathy and antisocial behaviour

Question 17

How did Harlows research supports Bowlby’s maternal deprivation conclusions? How does it do this?

Answer 17

Bowlby’s Maternal Deprivation is supported by Harlow’s (1958) research with monkeys. He showed that monkeys reared in isolation from their mother suffered emotional and social problems in older age. The monkey’s never formed an attachment (privation) and as such grew up to be aggressive and had problems interacting with other monkeys.

Question 18

What are the real-life applications of Bowlby’s research into MD? (2)

Answer 18

Due to Bowlby’s theory a number of real life applications have been made:

1. In orphanages now they have to take account of emotional needs, fostered children have to be kept in one stable home rather than being moved around.
2. In maternity units mothers are now allowed to spend more time with their babies as well as if they have a sick child the visiting hours in hospital have been extended, parents can even stay overnight if they wish.

Question 19

Bowlbys maternal deprivation theory

Elaborate about the -ve evaluation point about: Correlational data (3)

Answer 19

• Found relationship between deprivation & later behavioural issues, not clear if early separation caused these → other factors may be involved
• e.g. socio-economic factors
• Can’t establish cause and effect relationship to conclude that separation leads to behavioural issues & affectionless psychopathy

Question 20

Elaborate about the -ve evaluation point about: No distinction between deprivation and privation (3)

Answer 20

• Unclear if children studied had formed attachments & then these were broken OR if they had never formed attachment — the complete lack of an attachment bond, rather than its loss.
• Rutter (1981) argued that distinction needed ∵ believed privation = greater negative impact on child’s mental development than deprivation
• ∴ Children who displayed greatest signs of “emotionless psychopathy” may have experienced privation rather than deprivation = undermines Bowlby’s theory