Bowlby

• 44 thieves study (1944)- interviewed 44 children who had been referred to him for stealing and he compared them to a control group of 44 'emotionally disturbed' children who did not steal. was found that there was a correlation between early maternal deprivation and later delinquency and affectionless psychopaths, 14 out of 44 thieves were identified as affectionless psychopaths, and 12 of those had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers in the first two years of their lives. This shows that disrupted early attachment relationships may increase the risk of future emotional and behavioural problems
• affectionless psychopathy- a term referring to a lack of empathy and emotional connection, in 14 of the 44 thieves.
• comparison with control group (bowlby 44 thieves study)- only 2 out of the 44 adolescents in the control group had experienced similar prolonged separations, further highlighting the correlation between early separation and affectionless psychopathy,
• 44 thieves study eval- correlation vs causation- while the study found a correlation, it did not prove a causal relationship between early separation and later problems, other factors such as socioeconomic conditions or family history may also play a role
• 44 thieves study conclusion- the findings suggest a link between early separations and later social maladjustment, the maternal deprivation hypothesis appears to lead to affectionless psychopathy and antisocial behaviour