bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation

Question 1

what did this theory focus on the idea of

Answer 1

continual presence of care from a mother/mother-substitute is essential for normal psychological development of babies & toddlers, both emotionally & intellectually

Question 2

when did bowlby state ‘mother-love in infancy & childhood is as important for mental health as are vitamins & proteins for physical health’

Answer 2

1953

Question 3

maternal deprivation

Answer 3

emotional & intellectual consequences of separation between a child & their mother/mother-substitute

Question 4

separation

Answer 4

not being in the presence of the mother/primary attachment figure
–> extended separation can lead to deprivation

Question 5

privation

Answer 5

not having the opportunity to form a bond in the first place

Question 6

describe the case of genie & what she was an example of

Answer 6

• abused by her parents from 0-13 years
• moved between foster homes/wards
• could barely speak (not taught)
  –> example of privation

Question 7

what are the 4 components of this theory

Answer 7

1. delinquency
2. critical period
3. (effects on development 1) intellectual development
4. (effects on development 2) emotional development

Question 8

describe 1) delinquency

Answer 8

= behaviour violating social rules/conventions (in young children)

Question 9

describe 2) critical period

Answer 9

• first 2.5 years
• if child separated from their mother in absence of suitable substitute care (and so deprived of emotional care) for extended period of time = bowlby believed psychological damage was inevitable
• bowlby believed continuing risk till 5 years old
• could lead to delinquency

Question 10

describe 3) intellectual development

Answer 10

• bowlby believed if children were deprived of maternal care for too long (during critical period), they would experience delayed intellectual development
• characterised by abnormally low IQ
• demonstrated in studies of adoption eg. goldfarb 1947

Question 11

describe goldfarb (1947)

Answer 11

• found lower IQ in children who had remained in institutions (opposed to those who were fostered & thus, higher standard of emotional care

Question 12

describe goldfard (1955) - follow up study

Answer 12

• followed up 30 orphaned children to age 12
• half of original sample were fostered by 4 months
• other half remained in orphanage
• at 12, their IQs were assessed via stanford-binet test
  = fostered group had average IQ of 96
  = group which remained in orphanage had average IQ of 68

Question 13

describe 4) emotional development

Answer 13

• bowlby identified affectionless psychopathy as the inability to experience guilt/strong emotion towards others
• prevents person developing fulfilling relationships & is associated with criminality
• cannot appreciate victims feelings causing lack of remorse

Question 14

what did bowlbys 44 thieves study examine (aim)

Answer 14

link between affectionless psychopathy & maternal deprivation

Question 15

method/procedure of bowlbys 44 thieves study

Answer 15

• sample of 44 teenage delinquents (accused of stealing)
• they were interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy
• families also interviewed to establish any prolonged early maternal separation
• control group of 44 non-criminal teenagers (with emotional problems) assessed to see how often maternal deprivation occurred

Question 16

findings of bowlbys 44 thieves study

Answer 16

• 14/44 thieves were affectionless psychopaths & 12/44 had maternal deprivation
• of the 14 which were affectionless, 12 had experienced prolonged separation in the first 2 years of their lives
• in control group, 2/44 had maternal separation & 0/44 were categorised as affectionless psychopaths

Question 17

conclusion of bowlbys 44 thieves study

Answer 17

bowlby concluded that prolonged early separation/deprivation caused affectionless psychopathy

Question 18

describe the case of aileen wuornos

Answer 18

• born feb 29th 1956
• serial killer
• childhood filled with abuse & emotional neglect
• mother (gave birth at 15) abandoned aileen when she was 4
• never met father (in jail for sex crimes & killed himself in prison 1969)
• raised by grandparents
• by age 11, begun acting in intimate activities in exchange for cigarettes
• regularly assaulted by grandfather
• fell pregnant at 14 (with grandfathers child)
• sent to home for unwed mothers
• ran away from home & began prostitution –> shot & killed 7 men in florida 1989-90
• in 2002, sentenced to death via legal injection

Question 19

how is aileen’s case an example of the impacts of maternal deprivation

Answer 19

• separated from mother at 4 years which affected her emotional development & led to her becoming an affectionless psychopath

Question 20

AO3 for bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation (2 + & 4 -)

Answer 20

+)
P: modest support for idea maternal deprivation can have long term effects
E: evident as levy et al. (2003) showed that separating baby rats from their mother for as little as a day had permanent effects on social development though not other aspects of development
T: this means that although bowlby relied on flawed evidence to support his theory, we can use new lines of research as evidence for his ideas

-)
P: failure to produce similar findings
E: evident as in replication of bowlbys 44 thieves study, lewis (1954) looked at 500 young people & found no association between early separation & later psychopathy (criminality/relationship difficulties)
T: this means that the impact of maternal deprivation on abnormal development can be brought into discussion

-)
P: confusion between different types of early experience
E: evident as rutter (1981) drew an important distinction between 2 types of early negative experience. he pointed out that severe long-term damage bowlby associated with deprivation is actually more likely due to privation. many of the children in 44 thieves study had disrupted early lives (eg. in hospital) & may never have formed strong attachments. this means bowlby may have overestimated seriousness of effects of deprivation on childrens development
T: this means bowlby may have overestimated seriousness of effects of deprivation on childrens development

+)
P: practical application to society
E: evident as greater stability in childcare practice has been developed via day care centres assigning children to caregivers & hospital visiting hours have been reviewed so children can maintain contact with parents. also, some national governments offer more financial support for young families in terms of maternity/paternity leave - eg. sweden offers 480 days parental leave (highlights commitment to support early attachment)
T: means that the number of children experiencing deprivation will be reduced, including negative associated outcomes

-)
P: based on poor quality of evidence
E: bowlbys 44 thieves study is flawed as bowlby carried out both family interviews & assessments for affectionless psychopathy. thus, they were open to bias as he knew in advance which teenagers he expected to show psychopathy. other sources of evidence were equally flawed - eg. bowlby also influenced by goldfarb (1943) research on development of deprived children in wartime orphanages. this study has problems of confounding variables as children in study had experienced early trauma & institutional care alongside prolonged separation from primary caregivers
T: means that bowlbys original sources of evidence for maternal deprivation had serious flaws & not taken seriously as evidence nowadays

-)
P: idea of critical period
E: for bowlby, damage was inevitable if child not formed attachment by 2.5 years. however, evidence suggests in many cases good quality aftercare can prevent most/all of damage. for example, koluchova (1976) reported case of czech twins who experienced severe physical/emotional abuse 18 months to 7 years old. although they were severely damaged emotionally, the excellent aftercare they received allowed them to fully recover by teens.
T: means lasting harm isn’t inevitable even in cases of severe privation & thus, ‘critical period’ is better seen as ‘sensitive period’