Bowlby's theory of maternal deprivation Flashcards
(14 cards)
Define the term maternal deprivation
The emotional and intellectual consequences of extended seperation between a child and their mother or mother substitute, where a child loses an aspect of care within the critical period
How does maternal deprivation occur
When a child has extended seperation from the mother within the critical period, where an element of care is lost which could lead to psychological damage which is inevitable and irreversible
What does Bowlby argue is important in healthy psychological development?
Bowlby argues that continued nurture from a mother or mother substitute within the first 2.5 years of life is important for healthy psychological development
Define intellectual damage
This included cog impairment such as intellectual delay, shown by abnormally low IQ
-Goldfarb found lower IQ in children who had remained in institutions compared to those who had been fostered
Define emotional damage
This included affectionless psychopathy which is the inibility to experience guilt or strong emotion.
This prevents the person developing normal relationships and is associated with criminality. They also lack remorse
RTS Bowlby’s theory of maternl deprivation was conducted by…
Bowlby, the 44 juvenile thieves study
Who did Bowlby interview?
An opportunity sample of 44 juvenile thieves to see if they had signs of affectionless psychopathy, he then interviewed the parents to see if there was long periods of seperation in their childhoods
What did Bowlby find in his 44 juvenile thieves study?
He found that those who had affectionless psychopathy were more likely to have experienced long seperations where an element of care is lost
What is a criticism of Bowlby’s 44 juvenile thieves study?
It relies on retrospective data and the memory of parents to recall periods of seperation in childhood
The parents could have…
lied about this information to present themselves in a better light or simply forgotten it
Who conducted RTC Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation?
Lewis who partially replicated the 44 juvenile thieves study on a larger scale, looking at 500 young people
What did Lewis find
Found that a history of prolonged seperation from the mother did not predict criminality or difficulty forming relationships
What could be used to explain the differing findings of Bowlby and Lewis
Bowlby used an opportunity sample and conducted his research with the families and the juvenile thieves. His research could be open to bias which could explain different findings
What maternal deprivation led to?
Practical applications such as hospitals changing visiting hours and letting parents stay overnight with children to reduce the intellectual and emotional issues such as affectionless psychopathy
