Bowlby's Theory Of Maternal Deprivation

Question 1

What does deprivation mean?

Answer 1

To lose something (so, loss of emotional care by a caregiver)

Question 2

What did Bowlby propose?

Answer 2

1951, 1953

That prolonged emotional deprivation would have long-term consequences in terms of emotional development.

Question 3

What did Bowlby think the value of maternal care was?

Answer 3

He believed it wasn’t good enough to make sure that a child was well-fed and kept safe and warm.
He believed infants and children needed a warm, intimate and continuous relationship with a mother to ensure continuing normal mental health.

He famously said ‘mother love in infancy and childhood is as important for mental health as are vitamins and proteins for physical health’

Question 4

What are the ‘ifs’ of his beliefs?

Answer 4

It only applies to the critical period - separation will only have this effect if it happens before the age of about 2 and a half years, and if there is no substitute mother available.

Separation doesn’t necessarily result in deprivation, and it is deprivation that has the potential to cause long-term harm.

There could be a mother-substitute, that provides suitable emotional care so potential damage could be avoided.

Question 5

What are the long term consequences?

Answer 5

Emotional maladjustment

Mental health problems - depression

Question 6

What study did bowlby conduct of maternal deprivation and when?

Answer 6

44 juvenile thieves

1944

Question 7

What was the aim of the 44 thieves study?

Answer 7

To investigate the effects of maternal deprivation on people in order to see whether delinquents have suffered deprivation.

Question 8

What was the procedure for the 44 thieves study?

Answer 8

he analysed the case histories of a number of his patients in the Child Guidance Clinic in London where he worked. All of the children attending were emotionally maladjusted.

He studied 88 of these children:
He interviewed 44 adolescents (and parents) who were refereed to a child protection program in London because of stealing and 44 children to act as ‘controls’ (individuals referred to the clinic, but not yet committed any crimes).

Question 9

What did Bowlby suggest about some of the thieves?

Answer 9

He suggested that some of the thieves were affectionless psychopaths - they lacked normal signs of affection, shame or sense of responsibility.

Such characteristics enabled them to be thieves - they could steal from others because it didn’t matter to them

Question 10

What were the findings from the 44 thieves study?

Answer 10

All of those diagnosed as affectionless thieves had experienced frequent early separations from their mothers. About half of the thieves had been separated from their mothers for longer than 6 months during their first 5 years.

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 early separations (only 2) whereas 39% of all thieves has experienced early separations (often continual or repeated stays in foster homes/hospitals, when the children were scarcely visited by family).

He also found 32% of the young thieves showed affectionless psychopathy.
None of the control group were affectionless psychopaths.

Question 11

What is the conclusion of Bowlby’s study?

Answer 11

Lack of continuous care may well cause emotional maladjustment or even mental disorder.

Affectionless psychopaths show little concern for others and are unable to form relationships and was due to maternal deprivation.

Question 12

What are the evaluative points of the 44 thieves study?

Answer 12

Physical and emotional separation 
Support for long-term effects
Real-world application 
Individual differences 
Deprivation versus privation

Question 13

What is meant by physical and emotional separation?

Answer 13

When discussing deprivation, people assume that it is physical separation that is the cause, but it may also be related to psychological separation.

Being depressed would mean that, even though a mother is physically present, she may be unable to provide suitable emotional care, thus depriving her child of that care.

Marian Radke-Yarrow (1985) studied mothers who were severely depressed and found that 55% of their children (mean age 32 months) were insecurely attached, compared with 29% in the non-depressed group.

This shows that psychological separation can also lead to deprivation.

Question 14

What is meant by support for long-term effects?

Answer 14

One way to consider the effects of maternal deprivation is in terms of vulnerability.

Experiencing early maternal deprivation does not always result in negative outcomes, but what it appears to do is create an increased likelihood that this will happen.

This was illustrated in a classic study by Antonia Bifulco (1992) of women who had experienced separation from their mothers for more than a year.
She found that mental health problems were much greater in those women whose loss occurred before the age of 6, supporting Bowlby’s theory.

Question 15

What happened in Bifulco’s study?

Answer 15

Studied women who had experienced separation from their mothers either because of maternal death or temporary separation of more than a year.
She found that about 25% later experienced depression or anxiety, compared with 15% who had no experience of separation.

Question 16

What is meant by real-world application?

Answer 16

Bowlby’s study and theory had an enormous impact on post war thinking about childrearing and also on how children were looked after in hospitals.
Before his research children were separated from parents when they spent time in hospital.

James Robertson (1952) filmed a 2 year old girl during her 8 day period she was in hospital. She is seen to be frequently distressed and begs to go home.

Both of their work led to major social change in the way children were cared fo in hospital.

Question 17

What is meant by individual differences?

Answer 17

Research has shown that 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 sometimes cope reasonably well, whereas insecurely attached children become especially distressed.

Question 18

What is meant by deprivation versus privation?

Answer 18

Rutter (1981) criticised bowlbys view of deprivation because it didn’t make it clear whether the child’s attachment bond had formed and been broken or never formed at all.

Rutters view of deprivation was that the latter would have potentially far more serious consequences for the child than the former.

He therefore use the term privation to refer to situations where the child fails to develop an attachment bond with one caregiver, and deprivation to refer to situations where a bond does develop but though prolonged or traumatic separations is disrupted or lost

Question 19

What does Rutter think deprivation is?

Answer 19

Refers to a situation where a bond does develop, but through prolonged or traumatic separations is disrupted or lost.

Question 20

What does Rutter think privation is?

Answer 20

Refers to situations where the child fails to develop an attachment bond with one caregiver.