broken attachments

• Consequences of being deprived according to Blowlby?

  Bowlby believed that the consequences of deprivation where irreversible, and involved impaired cognitive, emotional, and behavioural development
• Deprivation definition (bowlby's maternal deprivation theory)

  Deprivation is when a child does not have a loving attachment figure during their critical period.
• Deprivation according to Rutter?

  deprivation is when a child forms an attachment to a loving caregiver, which is then broken or removed
• Privation according to Rutter?

  • privation is when a child has never experienced an attachment to a caregiver.
  • Privation has more serious long-term effects than deprivation
• Key study for maternal deprivation?

  44 juvenile thieves study
• Aim: the 44 juvenile thieves study

  To investigate the long term effects of maternal deprivation
• Describe cricticism against maternal deprivation theory

  • Rutter argued there was a distinction between deprivation and privation
  • Rutter stresses that the quality of attachment bond is the most important factor, rather than just deprivation in the critical period
  • He argues that it is the disruption of the attachment bond rather than the physical separation
• Define maternal deprivation

  when a child lacks an attachment figure or is separated from their attachment figure
• Outline Bowlby's maternal deprivation theory

  • Bowlby argued that prolonged emotional deprivation would have serious consequences on a child’s emotional development
  • Emotional needs are just as important as physical needs, and a warm, intimate and continuous relationship is required for normal mental health
  • Bowlby claimed that if a child is denied of such care, especially during a critical period of development, they will become emotionally disturbed.
• outline the PDD model

  the 3 stages children go through when they are deprived from a caregiver:

  Protest - become angry about being abandonned by their primary caregiver

  Despair - children become sad and withdrawn and refuse to be comforted

  Detattachment - children reject their main caregiver when they're reunited with them
• Real world application of Bowlby's maternal deprivation theory

  • In orphanages they have to take account of emotional needs, fostered children have to be kept in one stable home rather than being moved around.
  • In maternity units, mothers are now allowed to spend more time with their babies as well as if they have a sick child the visiting hours in hospital have been extended
• consequences of maternal deprivation

  • Impaired cognitive development - low IQ & poor language
  • Impaired emotional development - difficulty controlling emotions and forming relationships with other people
  • Impaired behavioural development
• Case study against Maternal Deprivation Theory

  • Koluchova (1972) case study on a pair of deprived twins shows support for the idea that the effects of deprivation can be reversed
• Koluchova (1972)

  twins who were severely neglected and deprived of an attachment figure, during their critical period
• Koluchova (1972)

  
  

  The twins showed the severe psychological damage that Bowlby claimed they would have

  Bowlby claims that this psychological damage would be long-lasting and irreversible
• Koluchova (1972)

  
  

  After being adopted by a loving family and receiving schooling

  The twins' cognitive abilities improved leaving them with an above average IQ
• The twins went on to form a positive attachment with their caregivers and have happy relationships in adult life
• The twins don't support Bowlby's idea that the consequences of deprivation are long-lasting and irreversible
• Sample: Bowlby’s 44 thieves

  • He selected an opportunity sample of 88 children attending his clinic
  • group 1: thief group - 31 boys and 13 girls were referred to him because of their stealing
  • group 2: control group - 34 boys and 10 girls were referred because of emotional problems (non-criminals)
• Procedure: Bowlby’s 44 thieves

  • 2 groups were matched for age and IQ
  • The children and their parents were interviewed and tested by a psychiatrist (Bowlby), a psychologist, and a social worker and focused specifically on their early life experiences
  • They established whether the thieves had experienced prolonged separation from their mother during the critical period and for how long
• Findings: Bowlby’s 44 thieves

  • 14 children from the theft group were identified as affectionless psychopaths
  • 12 of those experienced prolonged separation of more than 6 months from their mothers during their critical period
  • only 5/30 children classified as affectionless psychopaths had experienced separation
  • 2/44 in control had experienced prolonged separation, 0 of them we’re affectionless psychopaths
• Conclusions: Bowlby’s 44 thieves

  • This suggests that the affectionless psychopathy may have led to delinquent behaviour and may be linked to the periods of separation that thieves experienced in early life thus supporting the maternal deprivation theory