Bowlby's 44 thieves study - Supports Psychodynamic theory Flashcards
sample size
44 teenagers
what factors did the teenagers need to have
had to have been involved in criminal activity
were living with their biological parents
where did the participants had to have been referred to
Child Guidence clinic
what were the ppts. interviewed by Bowlby for
to assess whether they exhibited signs of affectionless psychopathy
affectionless psychopathy
lack of affection to others, lack of guilt or shame at their actions & lack of empathy for their victims
why were the families of the teenagers interviewed
to see if the children had prolonged early separations from their primary carer
who was the control group made up of
non-delinquent young people
why was there a control group
to see how commonly maternal deprivation occurred in non-delinquent children
results - what had 12/14 of the affectionless psychopaths experienced
prolonged separation from their mothers in the first 2 years of their life
how many of the affectionless psychopaths experienced prolonged separation from their mothers in the first 2 years of their life
12/14
5/30 delinquent children who were not classed as affectionless psychopaths had experienced what
similar separations to the affectionless psychopaths
how many delinquent children who were not classed as affectionless psychopaths had experienced similar separations to the affectionless psychopaths
5/30
how many in the control group had experienced similar separations
2/44
conclusions
young criminals who had a prolongued separation in their first 2 years were several times more likely to exhibit affectionless psychopathy than those who hadn’t
strong support for Bosby’s maternal deprivation hypothesis
