Bowlby's Theory of Maternal Deprivation

Question 1

Describe the background research to Bowbly’s theory

Answer 1

• In the 1930s/40s, a number of psychologists studied children who experienced prolonged separation from their families. They found children were disturbed and lagged behind in intellectual development.
• Spitz and Wolf observed 100 ‘normal’ children were placed in an institution become depressed within a few months
• Skodak and Skeels studied children in institutions. They found children scored poorly on IQ tests but when they were transferred to an institution where children were given emotion care, IQ scores improved by almost 30 points

Question 2

Outline Bowlby’s theory

Answer 2

John Bowlby proposed prolonged emotional deprivation would have long-term consequences in terms of emotional development

Question 3

Describe the value of maternal care as outlined by Bowlby’s theory

Answer 3

• He believed that it wasn’t enough to make sure that a child was well-fed and kept safe and warm. He believed that infants and children needed a ‘warm, intimate and continuous relationship’ with a mother to ensure normal mental health
• Famously said ‘motherly love in infancy and childhood is as important for mental health as are vitamins and proteins for physical health’

Question 4

Describe the critical period as outlined by Bowlby’s theory

Answer 4

• A child who is denied care due to frequent and/or prolonged separations, during the critical period, may become emotionally disturbed. However, separation will only have this effect if it happens before the age of about 2 and half years, and if there is no substitute mother. Bowlby felt there was a continuing risk up to the age of 5
• Potential damage can be avoided if suitable substitute emotional care is provided by a mother-substitute. So separation may not lead to deprivation, it is deprivation that causes long term harm

Question 5

Describe the procedure of the 44 juvenile thieves study

Answer 5

• Bowlby analysed the case histories of 88 patients in the Child Guidance Clinic where he worked. All children attending were emotionally maladjusted. Half of the children studied had been caught stealing (‘44 thieves’) and the other half were a control group.
• He suggested some ‘thieves’ were affectionless psychopaths - lacked normal signs of affection, shame and sense of responsibility. These characterises enabled them to be ‘thieves’ as they could steal and it wouldn’t matter to them

Question 6

Describe the findings of the 44 juvenile thieves study

Answer 6

• He found individuals diagnosed as affectionless thieves had experienced frequent early separations from their mother. 86% of the affectionless thieves (12 out of 14) experienced frequent separation compared with 17% (5 out of 30) of the other thieves
• Almost none of the control participants experienced frequent early separation whereas 39% of all thieves had experienced all early separations. These separations consisted of repeated stays in foster homes, when the children were scarcely visited by their families
• Suggests lack of continuous care may cause emotional maladjustment

Question 7

Give evaluation for Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory (long-term consequences)

Answer 7

• Support for long term consequences of maternal deprivation. Experiencing deprivation increasing the likelihood of negative outcomes
• Antonia Bifuclo et al (1972) studied women who experienced separation from their mother either because of a maternal death or temporary separation for a year. Bifclo found 25% later experienced depression or , anxiety compared with 15% who experienced no separation. Mental health problems were greater in the women whose loss occurred before the age of 6

Question 8

Give evaluation for Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory (real world)

Answer 8

• The theory and accompanying research has had real world applications as they highlight the importance of positive attachment experiences and maintaining a monotropic bond within the first 5 years, which has been instrumental in the development of god childcare practices.
• Before, children were separated from parents when they were in the hospital. Visiting was discouraged or forbidden. Bowlby’s colleague, James Robertson (1952) filmed a 2-year old girl during the 8-day period she was in the hospital, she was distressed and begged to go home.
• Assigning caregivers and visiting hours have been reviewed so children can maintain contact with their parents. Major social change in the way that children were cared for in the hospital

Question 9

Give evaluation for Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation (individual differences)

Answer 9

• Not all children are affected by emotional disruption in the same way
• Barrett (1997) reviewed various studies on separation and concluded that securely attached children may cope reasonably well while insecurely attached children become very distressed.
• A similar conclusion was drawn by Bowlby et al from a study of 60 children under the age of 4 being treated for TB. During a long stay in hospital, children were visited once a week so experienced prolonged early disruption of attachment. When assessed in adolescence, some children the TB group were more maladjusted (63%) than the ‘normal’ children, but there were no significant differenced between them and their ‘normal’ peers in terns of intellectual development.
• Bowlby et al suggest that those who coped better may have been more securely attached and thus more resilient, supporting that individual differences may be an important factor when examining the effects of deprivation.

Question 10

Give evaluation for Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation (deprivation vs privation)

Answer 10

• Bowlby fails to distinguish between deprivation and privation
• Rutter claimed that Bowlby didn’t make it clear whether the child’s attachment bond had been formed then broken or was never formed in the first place. Rutter’s view of deprivation was that the lack of an attachment bond would have more serious consequences for the child than the loss of an attachment bond. He used ‘privation’ to refer to situations where the child fails to develop an attachment bond and ‘deprivation’ where the bond does develop but it is lost.
• This lack of clarity in Bowlby’s definitions affects negatively the validity of research findings