Bowlby’s Maternal Deprivation

• what does Bowlbys maternal deprivation focus on?

  • the idea that the continual presence of care from a mother/mother-substitute is essential for normal psychological development of babies and toddlers, both emotionally and intellectually
• when was Bowlby particularly concerned about maternal deprivation?

  during critical period, but believed there was a continual risk up to 5 years old
• how does MD affect intellectual development?

  • children deprived of maternal care for too long during critical period would experience delayed intellectual development shown through abnormally low IQ
• how does MD affect emotional development?

  • Bowlby identified emotionless psychopathy as the inability to experience guilt or strong emotion towards others
  • This prevents a person developing normal relationships and is associated with criminality
  • Affectionless psychopaths can’t appreciate the feelings of victims and so lack remorse for their actions
• what was the name of the study by Bowlby in 1944?

  44 Juvenile Thieves
• what was the aim of the 44 Juvenile Thieves study?

  • to see if early separation from primary caregiver was associated with behavioural disorders, Bowlby applied the behaviour disorder of affectionless psychopaths in this study
• what was the method of the 44 Juvenile Thieves study?

  • case study
  • teenagers who had been referred to a clinic in London where Bowlby worked were examined
  • 44 were criminals (guilty of theft) and 44 were non-criminal participants (control group)
  • interviews with teenagers and their families to create a record of early life experiences, they gathered data on their IQ , emotional assessments were made and a separate report by a social worker, psychologist and Bowlby (psychiatrist) carried out
  • all data drawn together and analysed
• what were the results of the 44 Juvenile Thieves study?

  • Bowlby identified 14/44 thieves as affectionless psychopaths
  • 12/14 had experienced early and prolonged deprivation
  • only 5 of the other thieves and 2/4 of the control group had experienced such separation
• what were the conclusions of the 44 Juvenile Thieves study?

  • suggest a link between early separation and later social maladjustment
  • the maternal deprivation appears to lead to affectionless psychopaths and antisocial behaviour
• Robertson graphically depicts 2 year old Laura while separated from her mother for period of time in strange circumstances, her suffering contradicts expectations of children's ready hospital adjustment, instead demonstrating deep distress from both physical separation and hospital environment
• Findings contradict dominant behavioural theory of attachment (Dollard & Miller)


  Shown to underestimate child's bond with their mother
• Nursing implications

  • Development of family-centred care models keeping parents as integral to child's hospital care in order to minimise trauma
• why is Lewis (1944) a limitation of Bowlby's MD theory?

  • replicated 44 Juvenile Thieves study with larger sample but found no link between early deprivation and criminal behaviour
  • suggests other factors may be involved e.g. Barrett (1977) found securely attached children are more resistant to the negative effects of maternal deprivation compared to insecurely attached children
• why is Levy et al (2003) supportive?

  • was able to replicate Bowlby's findings using baby rats (correlation between maternal deprivation and stunted development)
  • used a scientific method meaning extraneous variables were controlled giving Bowlby's theory high validity and reliability