lesson 7- Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation

Question 1

maternal deprivation

Answer 1

-bowlby (1935) proposed that children who suffer from prolonged emotional deprivation caused by the absence of their primary attachment figure will have long-term intellectual, social and emotional difficulties, and even mental health issues
-according to continuity hypothesis these effects are irreversible and will continue into adulthood due to lack of an internal working model, which could even lead to an inability to be a good parent
-negative impacts of maternal deprivation could occur if the separation occurs before the child is 2 and a half years old, although there is a risk up to five years (sensitive period) and there is no substitute mother figure to take over the emotional care of the child

Question 2

Bowlby (1944)

Answer 2

-analysed the case histories of a number of his patients in the Child Guidance Clinic in London where he worked, all children attending the clinic were emotionally maladjusted
-studied 88 of these children, half of whom had been caught stealing (44 theieves) and the other half were control group, bowlby suggested that 14 of thieves were affection less psychopaths:lacked affection, shame and responsibility for their actions

Question 3

Findings

Answer 3

-those diagnosed as affectionless psychopaths had experienced frequent early separation from their mothers
-12 of affectionless psychopaths had experienced frequent separations from their mothers in comparison to 5 of 30 of thieves
-almost none of control group experienced separation from mothers

Question 4

Evaluation (3 strengths 2 weaknesses)

Answer 4

-before bowlby’s theory hospitals would not allow parents to visit children during hospital stays, often had profound and damaging effect on child, nowadays parents actively encouraged to stay in hospital with their children
-Spitz (1945) examined children raised in poor quality orphanage in South America, staff overworked under trained and rarely gave children any attention or affection children displayed anaclitic depression
-Skodak and Skeeles (1949) found children placed in institutions that only looked after them physically scored poorly on intelligence testimony however when same children transferred to different institution that gave children emotional care IQ scores improved by almost 30 points
-effects of maternal deprivation have been shown to be reversible, children who had never formed attachments could be adopted and still form attachments to new parents, Tizard et al (1989)
-bowlby did not distinguish between deprivation and privation, could be latter that causes extreme negative effects observed in some studies