Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation Flashcards
(10 cards)
Deprivation
refers to the loss of emotional care that is normally provided by a primary caregiver
The value of maternal care
Children need a warm, intimate and continuous relationship with a mother figure to ensure continuing normal mental health.
Critical period
A child who has frequent and/or prolonged separations may become emotionally disturbed but only if this happens before the age of about 2 and a half years and there is no substitute mother-person available.
Bowlby’s long-term consequence
He suggested that the long-term consequence of deprivation was emotional maladjustment or even mental health problems such as depression
44 Juvenile thieves Bowlby (1944) Procedure
Bowlby analysed case histories of 88 emotionally maladjusted children attending a child guidance clinic - half had been caught stealing (the 44 ‘thieves’) and the other half were a control group. Bowlby suggested 14 of the ‘thieves’ were affectionless psychopaths - they lacked normal signs of affection, shame or sense of responsibility.
44 Juvenile thieves Bowlby (1944) Findings
Bowlby found that, of the 24 individuals diagnosed as affectionless thieves, 12 had experienced frequent early separations from their mothers. Almost none of the control participants experienced early separations, whereas 39% of the thieves had experienced early separations. This suggests that early separations are linked to affectionless psychopathy.
Emotional separation could be more important than physical separation - Radke-Yarrow et al (1985)
P: infants can still experience deprivation even if they are not physically separated from their caregiver. E: A mother who is severely depressed may find it difficult to provide emotional care. Radke-Yarrow et al (1985) found that 55% of children with severely depressed mothers were insecurely attached, compared to 29% of children with non-depressed mothers. E: This suggests that psychological separation can also lead to deprivation, in the same way as physical separation.
There is research support for long-term effects of deprivation - Bifulco et al (1992)
P: Research suggests that early maternal deprivation increases the likelihood that individuals will experience later negative outcomes. E: Bifulco et al (1992) found that 25% of women who had experienced separation from their mothers later developed depression or an anxiety disorder, compared to 15% of those with no experience of separation. The severity of these problems was much greater in women whose loss was before the age of 6. E: This shows that early deprivation can make people more vulnerable to later mental health problems.
There are real-world applications of Bowlby’s theory
P: Bowlby’s work has had a positive impact on the way children are looked after in hospitals. E: Prior to Bowlby’s research, children were separated from their parents when they went into hospital. However, Bowlby’s and Robertson’s (1952) research (filming the distress of young children in hospital) led to major changes. Parents are encouraged to visit their children and there is greater flexibility in terms of visiting hours. E: This demonstrates the positive application to improve the lives of children.
There is a difference between deprivation and privation
P: Rutter (1981) claimed that Bowlby did not make it clear whether the child’s attachment bond had formed but been broken (deprivation), or had never been formed in the first place (privation). E: Rutter believes that the lack of an attachment bond would have far more serious consequences for the child than the loss of an attachment bond. E: This is important because there is a key distinction between deprivation and privation, and a lack of clarity may affect the validity of research findings.
