AO1 - Bowlby's maternal deprivation theory

• When did Bowlby propose his theory of maternal deprivation?


  1951
• What did Bowlby propose in relation to maternal deprivation?


  He proposed that children deprived of an early, strong attachment may suffer permanent long-term emotional maladjustment.
• What is maternal deprivation?


  Refers to the loss of emotional care that is typically provided by the mother as a primary caregiver which results in attachment being disrupted or broken.
• What did Bowlby argue infants needed for development?


  He believed it wasn't enough to make sure an infant was fed and kept safe and warm. He argued that infants need a 'warm, intimate and continuous relationship' with a mother or mother substitute.
• What did Bowlby believe was the consequence of a child being denied care because of frequent and/or prolonged separation?


  He believed it would result in negative and irreversible consequences, affecting the infant's social, emotional and intellectual skills.
• What did Bowlby believe needed to happen for separation to have irreversible consequences?


  The separation needed to have occurred before the age of around 2 and a half years (risk up to age 5)and there needs to have been no substitute mother available. Potential damage can be avoided if suitable substitute emotional care is provided by a mother substitute.
• What are the three consequences of deprivation?


  Delinquency, affectionless psychopathy and low IQ
• What is delinquency and what is it due to?


  Due to disrupted social development - behaviour is often outside of social norms e.g. petty crime.
• What is affectionless psychopathy and what is it due to?


  Due to disrupted emotional development - children are unable to show caring behaviours to others/for other's feelings/don't show remorse.
• What is low IQ and what is it due to according to Bowlby?


  Due to disrupted intellectual development - cognitive abilities are lower than peers.
• How is the internal working model impacted by maternal deprivation?


  Prolonged separation from the mother limits the ability of the infant to form an effective internal working model, leading to unsuccessful childhood and adulthood relationships and issues with parenting skills.
• How does the continuity hypothesis link to maternal deprivation?


  Prolonged separations that disrupt attachment may lead to emotional and social issues into adulthood.
• Who did the 44 juvenile thieves study?


  Bowlby
• When was the 44 juvenile thieves study?


  1944
• What was the procedure of Bowlby (1944) (the 44 juvenile thieves study)?


  - He studied 88 maladjusted children

  - 44 had been caught stealing and 44 were a control group

  - Bowlby suggested that some of the 'thieves' were affectionless psychopaths as they lacked normal signs of affection, shame or sense of responsibility

  - These characteristics enabled them to become thieves because they could steal from others and it didn't matter to them
• What were the findings from Bowlby (1944) (the 44 juvenile thieves study)?


  - Bowlby discovered that those diagnosed as affectionless thieves had experienced frequent early separation from their mothers

  - 86% of the affectionless thieves had experienced frequent separation compared to 17% of the other thieves

  - 39% of all thieves had experienced frequent separation compared to 4% of the control group

  - The early separations consisted of continual or repeated stays in foster homes/hospitals

  - This suggests early separation is linked to affectionless psychopathy