bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation Flashcards
what did this theory focus on the idea of
continual presence of care from a mother/mother-substitute is essential for normal psychological development of babies & toddlers, both emotionally & intellectually
when did bowlby state ‘mother-love in infancy & childhood is as important for mental health as are vitamins & proteins for physical health’
1953
maternal deprivation
emotional & intellectual consequences of separation between a child & their mother/mother-substitute
separation
not being in the presence of the mother/primary attachment figure
–> extended separation can lead to deprivation
privation
not having the opportunity to form a bond in the first place
describe the case of genie & what she was an example of
- abused by her parents from 0-13 years
- moved between foster homes/wards
- could barely speak (not taught)
–> example of privation
what are the 4 components of this theory
- delinquency
- critical period
- (effects on development 1) intellectual development
- (effects on development 2) emotional development
describe 1) delinquency
= behaviour violating social rules/conventions (in young children)
describe 2) critical period
- first 2.5 years
- if child separated from their mother in absence of suitable substitute care (and so deprived of emotional care) for extended period of time = bowlby believed psychological damage was inevitable
- bowlby believed continuing risk till 5 years old
- could lead to delinquency
describe 3) intellectual development
- bowlby believed if children were deprived of maternal care for too long (during critical period), they would experience delayed intellectual development
- characterised by abnormally low IQ
- demonstrated in studies of adoption eg. goldfarb 1947
describe goldfarb (1947)
- found lower IQ in children who had remained in institutions (opposed to those who were fostered & thus, higher standard of emotional care
describe goldfard (1955) - follow up study
- followed up 30 orphaned children to age 12
- half of original sample were fostered by 4 months
- other half remained in orphanage
- at 12, their IQs were assessed via stanford-binet test
= fostered group had average IQ of 96
= group which remained in orphanage had average IQ of 68
describe 4) emotional development
- bowlby identified affectionless psychopathy as the inability to experience guilt/strong emotion towards others
- prevents person developing fulfilling relationships & is associated with criminality
- cannot appreciate victims feelings causing lack of remorse
what did bowlbys 44 thieves study examine (aim)
link between affectionless psychopathy & maternal deprivation
method/procedure of bowlbys 44 thieves study
- sample of 44 teenage delinquents (accused of stealing)
- they were interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy
- families also interviewed to establish any prolonged early maternal separation
- control group of 44 non-criminal teenagers (with emotional problems) assessed to see how often maternal deprivation occurred
findings of bowlbys 44 thieves study
- 14/44 thieves were affectionless psychopaths & 12/44 had maternal deprivation
- of the 14 which were affectionless, 12 had experienced prolonged separation in the first 2 years of their lives
- in control group, 2/44 had maternal separation & 0/44 were categorised as affectionless psychopaths
conclusion of bowlbys 44 thieves study
bowlby concluded that prolonged early separation/deprivation caused affectionless psychopathy
describe the case of aileen wuornos
- born feb 29th 1956
- serial killer
- childhood filled with abuse & emotional neglect
- mother (gave birth at 15) abandoned aileen when she was 4
- never met father (in jail for sex crimes & killed himself in prison 1969)
- raised by grandparents
- by age 11, begun acting in intimate activities in exchange for cigarettes
- regularly assaulted by grandfather
- fell pregnant at 14 (with grandfathers child)
- sent to home for unwed mothers
- ran away from home & began prostitution –> shot & killed 7 men in florida 1989-90
- in 2002, sentenced to death via legal injection
how is aileen’s case an example of the impacts of maternal deprivation
- separated from mother at 4 years which affected her emotional development & led to her becoming an affectionless psychopath
AO3 for bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation (2 + & 4 -)
+)
P: modest support for idea maternal deprivation can have long term effects
E: evident as levy et al. (2003) showed that separating baby rats from their mother for as little as a day had permanent effects on social development though not other aspects of development
T: this means that although bowlby relied on flawed evidence to support his theory, we can use new lines of research as evidence for his ideas
-)
P: failure to produce similar findings
E: evident as in replication of bowlbys 44 thieves study, lewis (1954) looked at 500 young people & found no association between early separation & later psychopathy (criminality/relationship difficulties)
T: this means that the impact of maternal deprivation on abnormal development can be brought into discussion
-)
P: confusion between different types of early experience
E: evident as rutter (1981) drew an important distinction between 2 types of early negative experience. he pointed out that severe long-term damage bowlby associated with deprivation is actually more likely due to privation. many of the children in 44 thieves study had disrupted early lives (eg. in hospital) & may never have formed strong attachments. this means bowlby may have overestimated seriousness of effects of deprivation on childrens development
T: this means bowlby may have overestimated seriousness of effects of deprivation on childrens development
+)
P: practical application to society
E: evident as greater stability in childcare practice has been developed via day care centres assigning children to caregivers & hospital visiting hours have been reviewed so children can maintain contact with parents. also, some national governments offer more financial support for young families in terms of maternity/paternity leave - eg. sweden offers 480 days parental leave (highlights commitment to support early attachment)
T: means that the number of children experiencing deprivation will be reduced, including negative associated outcomes
-)
P: based on poor quality of evidence
E: bowlbys 44 thieves study is flawed as bowlby carried out both family interviews & assessments for affectionless psychopathy. thus, they were open to bias as he knew in advance which teenagers he expected to show psychopathy. other sources of evidence were equally flawed - eg. bowlby also influenced by goldfarb (1943) research on development of deprived children in wartime orphanages. this study has problems of confounding variables as children in study had experienced early trauma & institutional care alongside prolonged separation from primary caregivers
T: means that bowlbys original sources of evidence for maternal deprivation had serious flaws & not taken seriously as evidence nowadays
-)
P: idea of critical period
E: for bowlby, damage was inevitable if child not formed attachment by 2.5 years. however, evidence suggests in many cases good quality aftercare can prevent most/all of damage. for example, koluchova (1976) reported case of czech twins who experienced severe physical/emotional abuse 18 months to 7 years old. although they were severely damaged emotionally, the excellent aftercare they received allowed them to fully recover by teens.
T: means lasting harm isn’t inevitable even in cases of severe privation & thus, ‘critical period’ is better seen as ‘sensitive period’
