maternal deprivation

• Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis proposed that a “warm, intimate & continuous relationship with a mother (figure)” is necessary for healthy psychological/ emotional development

  (claimed mother love in infancy is as important for mental health as proteins and vitamins are for physical )
• difference between seperation and deprivation

  • separation is when a child isn't physically present in front of attachment figure, only for brief periods of time.
  • Deprivation refers to the loss of emotional care that is caused by Prolonged period of absence or separation from mother , with no mother substitute (to give emotional care)available  before the age of 2.5 (criticial) .with there still being some risk up to age 5 .
• what happens as a result of deprivation

  • can have long term consequences of emotional maladjustement and/or mental health issues
  • Bowlby proposed affectionless psychopathy
• bowlby 44 thieves study

  • 44 non thieves (control group)
  • 44 thieves children 
  • aample came from a numebr of Emotionally malajusted children in a clinic
  • using interviews, psychological assessments, and family history investigate the link between early maternal separation and delinquency
• • he found the thieves Lacked normal signs of affection, shame or sense of responsibility characteristics enabling them to be thieves, leading him to diagnos them with affectionless psychopathy
  • 86% affectionless thieves experienced early seperation 
  • 17% other thieves 
  • And almost none of the control groups had early seperations
  • Early separations linked to affectionless psychopathy