Maternal Deprivation Flashcards
Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation
Deprivation occurs when an attachment bond is formed between an infant and caregiver but is broken in later life. Bowlby proposed this theory 20 years before his attachment theory. However, the basis of the maternal deprivation hypothesis is the same as his idea of the critical period.
“If an infant is unable to develop a warm, intimate and continuous relationship with his/her mother (or mother substitute) before the age of 2.5 years then the child would have difficulty forming relationships with other people and be at risk of behavioural/emotional disorders.’
Bowlby believed that ongoing maternal deprivation would have lasting negative effects on a child in terms of their emotional development leading to possible mental health problems or maladjustments. Although Bowlby believed that the effects of maternal deprivation would be at their most acute during the critical period, should substitute emotional care not be provided, he also noted that there was a risk of adverse consequences up until 5 years of age.
Effects on development
1) Intellectual development: delayed intellectual development (abnormally low IQ).
2) Emotional development: affectionless psychopathy = the inability to experience guilt or strong emotions towards others.
- Prevents the development of normal relationships and associated with criminality.
Key Study: 44 Juvenile Thieves (Bowlby, 1944) - Aim
To see if early separation from the primary caregiver (deprivation) was associated with behavioural disorders. Bowlby defined a particular behaviour disorder as affectionless psychopathy to describe individuals who have no sense of shame or guilt.
Key Study: 44 Juvenile Thieves (Bowlby, 1944) - Method
Children, from 5-16 years old who had been referred to a guidance clinic in London where Bowlby worked were examined. 44 of the children were criminals (guilty of theft) and 44 non-criminal participants were used as a control group. Bowlby interviewed the children and their families to create a record of early life experiences.
Key Study: 44 Juvenile Thieves (Bowlby, 1944) - Findings
Bowlby identified 14 of the 44 thieves as affectionless psychopaths. 86% (12 out of 14) of these affectionless psychopaths had experienced early and prolonged deprivation. Only 17% of the ‘other thieves’ had experienced such separations and 4% of the control group had experienced frequent early separations.
Key Study: 44 Juvenile Thieves (Bowlby, 1944) - Conclusion
These findings suggest a link between early separations and later social maladjustment. The maternal deprivation hypothesis appears to lead to affectionless psychopathy and antisocial behaviour.
Maternal deprivation - strength
Bowlby’s research on maternal deprivation has had a significant impact on best practice institutions such as hospitals where infants are likely to experience prolonged separation from caregivers. Historically, visiting children in hospitals was very restricted or not permitted at all. The Robertson’s (1952) observed a 2-year-old girl named Laura who was hospitalised for 8 days. Laura struggled to cope with the emotional deprivation, demonstrating real distress. Key changes have since occurred due to the new psychological insight into how best to provide quality substitute emotional care in the absence of parents to minimise negative consequences for the child.
Maternal deprivation - weakness
There is evidence which counters Bowlby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis claims. Lewis (1944) replicated the juvenile thieves study with a larger sample of children but did not find that early deprivation, caused by prolonged separation from the primary caregiver, predicted a greater likelihood of criminal behaviour in the youths. This casts doubt on Bowlby’s theory as it suggests that other factors may be involved which mediate the consequences of maternal deprivation. For example, Barrett (1997) found that securely attached children are more resistant to the negative effects of maternal deprivation in comparison to insecurely attached children.
Maternal deprivation - weakness
One weakness of Bowlby’s research is that the findings are correlational. Bowlby found a relationship between deprivation and later behavioural issues (affectionless psychopathy), but it is not clear that the early separation caused these issues, as there could have been other factors involved. Therefore, we cannot establish cause and effect relationship to conclude that separation leads to behavioural issues and affectionless psychopathy. Additional methodological issues with Bowlby’s maternal deprivation is that he used retrospective data collection by means of an interview. Therefore, the parents of the juvenile thieves may have over/under-estimated the details of early separations with their children, making the results less valid.
Maternal deprivation - weakness
Bowlby is criticised for not making the distinction clear between deprivation and privation. Rutter (1982) suggests that privation - not having had the opportunity to form an attachment at all - leads to more damaging consequences for the child than experiencing a broken attachment in their early years. Rutter disapproved of Bowlby’s use of the word deprivation for he believed he was confusing the 2 concepts and using the term interchangeably.
Maternal deprivation - strength
Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation suggests that children who are deprived of an attachment, usually within a critical period of development, will suffer negative long-term consequences (eg, emotional maladjustment, mental health problems, etc). This suggests that an infant’s life chances are determined by their early attachment experiences.
