Classic research- John Bowlby (1944) (Forty-four juvenile thieves) Flashcards
What is the summary of Bolby’s research?
That there’s a link between childhood trauma and negative behaviour in adolescence. He supported the Freudian idea that traumatic childhood experiences can shape our adult personalities. He believed that one of the most traumatic events a young child can experience is separation from their primary caregiver?
What was the aim of Bowlby’s research?
Bowlby conducted the ‘forty-four juvenile thieves’ study to support his maternal deprivation hypothesis by asking whether maternal separation from the mother could be related to behavioural problems later in life
What was the method and procedure of Bowlby’s research?
Over a period of three years, Bowlby investigated 88 children who had been referred to a London Child guidance Clinic for social and emotional issues. Of the 88 children, 44 were referred to the clinic for stealing and were the ‘thieves’ group. The other 44 children were referred for issues other than theft and acted as the control group. The children ranged from age 5-16 and were matched on intelligence through an IQ test. The parents were involved in a series of interviews to find out about their early experiences. More information was gathered through school reports and evidence from court records. After all the children were categorised into behavioural types including normal, depressed, hyperactive and affectionless psychopaths
What was the findings of Bowlby’s research?
Out of the 44 thieves, 14 were diagnosed as affectionless psychopaths and 12 out of these 14 children had experienced early and prolonged or even permanent separation from their mothers. Separation mainly consisted of spending their early years in residential care or hospital with few visits from family. None of the children in the control group were diagnosed as affectionless psychopaths and only two out of the 44 has experienced prolonged separation from their mothers in the first 5 years of life
What was the conclusion of Bowlby’s research?
Bowlby concluded that there was a relationship between early separation and developing an affectionless character leading to antisocial behaviour such as thieving. The findings support Bowlby’s deprivation hypothesis.
What was the sample type of Bowlby’s research?
Opportunity sample of children from the child guidance clinic
What were the co-variables of Bowlby’s research?
Early separation and juvenile delinquency
What is the reliability of Bowlby’s research?
Information about early separation was collected from both the parents and the children. This could make the information unreliable as over time memories can become distorted so it is difficult to know how accurate the information was
What was the sample like for Bowlby’s research?
The sample may have been biased as it was a small sample group and consisted of children who were referred to the clinic. The sample was also mainly male with at least 30 in each group being boys. Although Bowlby did attempt to match the participants on age and IQ more could have been done to ensure the population validity of the sample was more generalisable. For example Bowlby could have included a control group of children who had not been referred to the clinic
What are the ethical issues for Bowlby’s research?
Bowlby’s research took place many years before guidelines on the ethics of research were introduced. The participants were referred to the clinic for behavioural reasons and in the parents consenting to their child attending the clinic there may have been assumed consent that they would be used in research.
What are the social implication of bowlby’s research?
Studying the effects of early attachment on later behaviour poses a socially sensitive issue. Bowlby’s research stresses the link between maternal deprivation and social and emotional issues in a child, thus implying that the neglect of a child by a parent is the reason for the child’s negative behaviour. When published, Bowlby’s research implied that the mothers of the juvenile delinquents had been neglectful, this could have negatively impacted their views on themselves as parents and caused concern for the future of their children. There are also implications that go beyond the research- for example, mothers that want to go back to work soon after their child is born.
