Deprivation Flashcards
Deprivation
Was attached, but it was interrupted/removed/ was of poor quality
Maternal deprivation hypothesis - Bowlby
Breaking the maternal bond with a child during the critical period can have serious effects on the child’s intellectual, social and emotional development (apparently permanent and irreversible)
Robertson and Robertson (1952) - Aim
To investigate short term effects if deprivation by examining children in hospital (parents were allowed to visit)
Procedure- Robertson and Robertson (1952)
- examined how children coped without their mother
- made films of these children
Findings - Robertson and Robertson (1952)
- during separation, children were extremely distressed and on return home, they were less attached, less affectionate and less happy than before
- major implications on hospital visiting hours being extended
Bowlby - PDD
Children go through 3 stages if separated from primary caregiver
1) PROTEST= crying, calling, distraught etc (hours/days)
2) DESPAIR = apathetic, occasional crying, withdrawn, self-soothing
3) DETACHMENT = cry less, more alert, accepts comfort from others
- after detachment child will reject mother upon return which can lead to anaclitic depression
Little John - Robertson (1952)
- 17 month old in nursery for 9 days
- easy to manage child
- nurses are young and friendly but can’t substitute for absent mother
- John tries to make relationships but is defeated and becomes distressed
- when he goes home he won’t accept his mother, struggles out of her arms and looks at her differently
Spitz and Wolf (1946)
- studied 100 normal children who became seriously depressed after staying in hospital
- children generally recovered well if the separation lasted less than three months (opposes Bowlby as attachment is not irreversible)
- longer separations were rarely associated with complete recovery
Schaffer (1958)
- 67 hospitalised children under 12 months
- all without mother for duration and had very little attention from nurses
- children over 7 months cried and physically struggled
- children under 7 months didn’t protest but remained silent and seemed bewildered
- age plays a significant role in protest to separation
Goldfarb (1943)
- studied development of children’s who lived in institutions compared to those who lived with mother
- 15 children in each group, matched on maternal level of education and occupation
- studied from 6 months to 3 years
- children in institutions were intellectually and socially behind mothered group
- in adolescences, children maintained their developmental lag and had problems with relationship formations (supports Bowlby)
Bowlby (1944)- 44 Thieves
Children who were deprivation from their mother were more likely to become affectionless psychopaths
Spiro (1958)
- boy brought up in Israeli Kibbutz (communal living)
- left for several weeks whilst parents were travelling
- boy was left in a familiar environment with same setting and people but still showed same levels of distress shown by Robertsons Little John
Fagin (1966)
Only children who went to the hospital unaccompanied by their mother showed distressed compared to those who were accompanied
Spitz (1945)
- research in children orphanages in South America
- babies separated at 3 months and out into orphangae to await fostering vs one whose mothers visited regularly from prison
- orphanage babies displayed anaclitic depression and developmental delay
- prison babies thrived
Anaclitic depression
Emotional withdrawal, crying, lack of appetite
Barrett (1997)
- re-examined the original films of Bowlby 44 thieves
- securely attached children appeared to cope relatively well compared to more insecure attached who were distressed
- PDD applies to children insecurely attached but not to all
Evaluation of Little John - Robertson (1952)
- 17 months = not representative of other aged children
- John was very shy, another more assertive/aggressive child may act differently
- ideographic case study
- John may of been distressed due to the unfamiliar environment of a hospital, not separation
Positive applications of research into deprivation
- new hospital procedures e.g. visiting times and hours so parents can have increased accessed
- childcare practices to avoid bind disruption (ratios set by government)
Ameliorate
To improve
e.g. make a bad situation less bad/harmful
Bowlby argues that short term effects of deprivation can only be BLANK by BLANK, and not going through the stages of the BLANK model
Ameliorated, Reunion, PDD
Reducing negative effects of deprivation (two studies)
- Robertson (1971)= cared for young children in their home whilst mothers were in hospital, less ill effects from separation is quality of substitute care was provided- it is emotional deprivation that had the ability to cause harm long term, not solely separation
- Robertson (1989)= arranged for children to visit their mothers in hospital and brought their toys - they spelt and ate well in her care and welcomed their parents at the end of stay - separation didn’t lead to deprivation as long as it was short term and a substitute is provided even during critical period
