Maternal deprivation Flashcards
(21 cards)
Define maternal deprivation
refers to lack of adequate nurturing for a young or child due to the absence or premature loss of, or neglect by, its mother/primary caregiver.
Describe Separation vs deprivation
Separation means the child not being physically in the presence of the primary attachment
figure
Deprivation means losing emotional care because of the separation.
What was Bowlby’s idea of maternal deprivation
prolonged emotional deprivation would have long-term consequences in terms of emotional development.
What are the three strands of Maternal deprivation theory
- value of maternal care
- critical period
- long term consequenses
Outline the value of the mother
Before Bowlby, it was assumed that a good standard of food and physical care was the key importance for good care.
If children were separated from their caregivers, then that is all that was necessary to maintain a good standard of
care.
However, Bowlby believed it wasn’t enough to make sure that a child was well-fed and warm. He believed that infants and children need a ‘warm, intimate and continuous relationship’ with a mother/caregiver to ensure continuing normal mental health.
- Said that ‘mother-love in infancy and childhood is as important for mental health as are vitamins and proteins for physical health’
Outline the critical period
He believed that a young child who is denied care because of prolonged separations may become emotionally disturbed
- separations will only have this effect if this happens before the age of 2 and a half years. (critical period)d there was continuing risk up until the end of
five years of age. - Potential damage can be avoided if suitable emotional care if given by the mother
- Argued that once the disruption had occurred then
this was irreversible
What are the long term consequences f maternal deprivation
- Low IQ
- Emotional problems
- Juvenile delinquency
- Affectionless
psychopathology
How does maternal deprivation cause low IQ
deprivation during the critical period causes learning
difficulties characterised by abnormally low IQ
- Goldfarb, 1947, found lower IQ levels in children who had remained in institutions as opposed to those who were fostered and had a
higher standard of emotional care
How does maternal deprivation cause emotional
problems
deprivation during the critical period also causes mood
disorders such as depression
How does maternal deprivation cause Juvenile delinquency
deprivation during the critical period also causes criminal
behaviour in youth such as theft
How does maternal deprivation cause affectionless
psychopathology
deprivation during the critical period also causes ‘affectionless
psychopathy’ characterised by the inability to experience guilt for their actions or feel
empathy for others
What was the aim of Bowlby’s study
investigate the link between maternal deprivation and affectionless
psychopathy
What was the method of Bowlby’s study
Interviewed ‘juvenile delinquents’, children in his sample ranged in age from 5 to 16.
- One group consisted of 44 children who had been referred to the clinic because they
were caught stealing.
Within this group Bowlby identified a subgroup who he described as affectionless psychopaths.
- Also used a control group of 44 children were not thieves but had been referred to the
clinic for emotional problems.
Bowlby interviewed the children and their parents, collecting information about their early life, especially any extended separations during the critical period.
What were the results of Bowlby’s study
Found that 86% of the affectionless psychopaths had experienced extended separations from their mothers
during the critical period (repeated stays in foster homes or hospitals) as compared with only 17% of the
other thieves and 4% of the control participants
- almost none of the control participants had experienced early separations whereas 39% of all the thieves had experienced early separations.
What was the conclusion of Bowlby’s study
there is a link between early separations (maternal deprivation) and affectionless
psychopathy.
Lack of continuous care may well cause emotional maladjustment or even mental disorder.
What are strengths of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation
Research support
practical applications
What are limitations of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation
Researcher bias
Retrospective data and social desirability
Evaluate research support as a strength of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation
P: Supported by research
E: Radke-Yarrow et al studied mothers who were severely depressed and found that 55% of their children (mean age 32 months) were insecurely attached compared to 29% in the non-depressed group.
Depression might have impacted their behaviour towards their baby and contributed to the insecure attachment type.
E: Strength of the theory because it suggests that emotional separation/ lack of emotional care can
also lead to deprivation.
Further E: However, not all the children in the depressed group were insecurely attached – which suggests that the
lack of emotional care did not lead to deprivation in all children. Therefore, suggesting the MDH is not a valid theory to generalise universally.
Evaluate practical applications as a strength of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation
P: Successful practical applications.
E: MDH led to a dramatic change in the care of children in hospitals with, for instance, parents being encouraged from visiting their children and staying with them in hospital.
E: Strength because the theory has made a positive contribution to the real world and the
development of thousands of children. Also has economic benefit because it also reduces costs of social services for children and adults.
Evaluate researcher bias as a limitation of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation
P: Poor quality of evidence it is based on.
E: In Bowlby’s 44 thieves’ study, Bowlby conducted both the family interviews and the assessments for
affectionless psychopathy. This left him open to researcher bias because he knew in advance which teenagers he expected to show signs of psychopathy.
In addition, Bowlby was influenced by research that was flawed when developing his theory. For example, Goldfarb’s research on the development of deprived children in wartime orphanages. This study has problems of confounding variables because the children had also experienced early
trauma and institutional care alongside their prolonged separation from their primary caregivers.
E: This is a weakness because his findings may have been unconsciously influenced by his own expectations, so his conclusions about maternal deprivation may lack internal validity. Thus it is weak evidence to support the MDH as a valid theory
Evaluate retrospective data and social desirability as a limitation of Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation
P: may have been subject to memory or social biases due to the self report methodology.
E: Bowlby interviewed the children and their mothers, collecting information about their early life, especially any extended separations during the critical period.
E Limitation because the mothers, and children, had to think back to many years
when their memories of the details relating to the extended separation may have been distorted.
Additionally, the mothers may have downplayed the length of time the separation lasted for, and the reaction of their child to it, to paint their parenting in a more positive light.This would decrease the validity of the findings
