bowlbys theory of maternal deprivation

• Define maternal deprivation

  The emotional and intellectual consequences of separation between a child and his/her mother or mother substitute.
• explain deprivation for intellectual development

  Bowlby beloved if children were deprived for too long during the critical period they would suffer delayed intellectual development characterised by abnormally low IQ score
• explain deprivation for emotional development

  Bowlby identified affectionless psychopathy as the inability to experience guilt or strong emotions for others

  is associated with criminal
• What was Bowlby's 44 thieves study aim?

  to examine link between affectionless psychopathy and maternal deprivation
• What was Bowlby's 44 thieves study procedure ?

  44 criminal teenagers accused of stealing

  Thieves were interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy-characterised by a lack of guilt and empathy

  families also interviewed to identify if the thieves had prolonged early separation from their mothers
• what was the findings from bowlbys 44 thieves study

  14/44 could be described as affectionless psychopaths and 12 of these had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers in the first two years of their lives

  2 ps in control group had experienced long separations
• critical period 


  first two and a half years of child's life

  if child was deprived of mother's emotional care during this time then psychological damage was inevitable
• flawed evidence

  P: imitation - poor quality of evidence

  E: Bowlby himself carried out the family interview and assessment for affectionless psychopathy

  E: means study was biased and the presence of confounding variables affected results

  L: therefore evidence is flawed and not valid
• counterpoint 


  P: strength - evidence suggests maternal deprivation has lasting effects

  E: researcher separated baby rats from their mothers

  E: separating baby rats for even one day had permanent effects on their social development

  L: therefore other sources providing evidence for maternal deprivation
• deprivation and privation 


  P: limitation - confusion between different types of early experience

  E: deprivation is loss of attachment figure after attachment was formed but privation is never forming an attachment

  E: many of children from 44 thieves study has disrupted lives and never formed an attachment

  L: therefore Bowlby may have overstated the seriousness of effects deprivation
• critical vs sensitive period

  P: limitation - Bowlby idea of critical period

  E: evidence that good quality aftercare can prevent most or all of damage

  E: Czech twins received good aftercare and had fully recovered by their teens

  L: therefore lasting harm not evitable even in serious privation cases