Maternal Deprivation – Bowlby
Continual presence of care from a mother or substitute is essential for normal psychological
development of babies emotionally and intellectually.
Attachments are commonly disrupted in situations when a child is put in day care, has
prolonged stays in hospital care or were put in institutional care to be separated from
abusive/ neglectful parents.
Privation – when a child fails to form any attachments at all, main cause is institutional care.
‘Mother love in infancy and childhood is as important for mental health as are vitamins
and proteins for physical health’.
Separation vs deprivation
Separation – child not being in the presence of a primary attachment figure.
Deprivation – infants losing an element of care during the critical period. Prolonged
separation can lead to privation, causing problems with emotional and intellectual
development.
Critical period – 30 months for child development
Effects on development
Intellectual development
- Delayed intellectual development, characterised by abnormally low IQ.
- William Goldfarb (1947) found lower IQ in children who had remained in institutions
as opposed to those who were fostered and thus had a higher standard of emotional
care.
- Emotional development
- Affectionless psychopathy > inability to experience guilt or strong emotion towards
others.
- Prevents a person from developing normal relationships and is associated with
criminality.
- Cannot appreciate the feelings of victims so have no remorse.
Bowlby's research – 44 Thieves Study (1944)
Aim to examine the link between affectionless psychopathy and maternal deprivation.
Procedure
- 44 thieves (teenagers) interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy.
- Their families were also interviewed to establish whether they had prolonged early
separations from their mothers.
- Sample was compared to a control group of 44 non-criminal but emotionally
disturbed young people.
Findings
Continual presence of care from a mother or substitute is essential for normal psychological
development of babies emotionally and intellectually.
Attachments are commonly disrupted in situations when a child is put in day care, has
prolonged stays in hospital care or were put in institutional care to be separated from
abusive/ neglectful parents.
Privation – when a child fails to form any attachments at all, main cause is institutional care.
‘Mother love in infancy and childhood is as important for mental health as are vitamins
and proteins for physical health’.
Separation vs deprivation
Separation – child not being in the presence of a primary attachment figure.
Deprivation – infants losing an element of care during the critical period. Prolonged
separation can lead to privation, causing problems with emotional and intellectual
development.
Critical period – 30 months for child development
Effects on development
Intellectual development
- Delayed intellectual development, characterised by abnormally low IQ.
- William Goldfarb (1947) found lower IQ in children who had remained in institutions
as opposed to those who were fostered and thus had a higher standard of emotional
care.
- Emotional development
- Affectionless psychopathy > inability to experience guilt or strong emotion towards
others.
- Prevents a person from developing normal relationships and is associated with
criminality.
- Cannot appreciate the feelings of victims so have no remorse.
Bowlby's research – 44 Thieves Study (1944)
Aim to examine the link between affectionless psychopathy and maternal deprivation.
Procedure
- 44 thieves (teenagers) interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy.
- Their families were also interviewed to establish whether they had prolonged early
separations from their mothers.
- Sample was compared to a control group of 44 non-criminal but emotionally
disturbed young people.
Findings
