Long-term Maternal Deprivation Flashcards
Bowlby argued that long-term deprivation from an attachment figure
could be harmful
Bowlby produced the
maternal deprivation hypothesis
deprivation from the main caregiver during the critical period
will have harmful effects on a child’s emotional, social, intellectual and even physical development
long term effects of deprivation may include
separation anxiety
this may lead to
problem behaviour
what is ‘problem behaviour?’
being very clingy
avoiding going to school
future relationships may be affected by
this emotional insecurity
Bowlby’s 44 juvenile thieves date
1944
Method: case studies were completed on the backgrounds of
44 adolescents who had been referred to the clinic where Bowlby worked because they’d been stealing
Method: there was a control group of
44 emotionally disturbed adolescents who didn’t steal
Results: 17 of the thieves had experienced
frequency separations from their mother before the age of 2 compared with 2 from the control group
Results: 14 of the thieves were diagnosed as
affectionless psychopaths
Results: 12 of the 14 affectionless psychopathy experienced
separation from their mothers
Conclusion: deprivation of the child from it’s main carer early in life
can have very harmful long-term consequences
Evaluation: the results indicate a link between
deprivation and criminal behaviour
