maternal deprivation - bowlbys theory

• maternal deprivation theory focused on idea that continual presence of nature from mother substitutes is essential for normal psychological development of babies (emotionally and intellectually)
• bowlby argued being separated from mother in early childhood has serious consequences (damage to emotional and intellectual development)
• maternal deprivation

  • emotional intellectual consequences of separation between child and mother or mother substitute
• bowlby proposed continuous care from mother is essential
• separation - child isnt in presence of primary attachment figure
• deprivation - extended periods of separation - can cause harm to childs development (losing element of care)
• critical period

  • bowlby states first 30 months of life is critical period
  • if childs separated from mother - in absence of suitable substitute care (deprives of emotional care for extended period of time) during critical period - he believes psychological damage is inevitable
• effects of maternal deprivation on INTELLECTUAL development

  • bowlby believed if child was deprived of maternal care for too long during critical period - child would suffer delayed intellectual development (abnormally low IQ)
  • goldfard - adoption study - followed 30 orphaned children up to age 12 - 15 of children fostered by 4 months and other 15 remained in orphanage - at 12 their IQ was assessed using test - found fostered group had average IQ of 96 and orphanage group had average IQ of 68 - highlights significance of maternal care in early years of development
• effects of maternal deprivation on EMOTIONAL development

  • bowlby conducted 44 thieves study - looked at relationship between deprivation and emotional development
  • examined how children who experienced maternal deprivation went on to become affectionless psychopaths
• affectionless psychopaths are individuals who cant exhibit caring behaviours/ concern or affection for other

  • dont have empathy for others + show no guilt/remorse for bad deeds
• key study - Bowlbys 44 thieves

  • aimed to examine links between affectionless psychopathy and maternal deprivation
• procedure for 44 thieves study - bowlby

  • used 44 criminal teenagers accused of stealing (thieves)
  • all thieves interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy - characterised by lack of affection, lack of guilt about actions, lack of empathy for victims
  • families also interviewed to establish whether thieves had prolonged early separations from their mothers
  • control group - non criminals but where emotionally disturbed young people - see how maternal separation/deprivation occurred in those who werent thieves
• findings of 44 thieves study - bowlby

  • 14 of 44 thieves could be described as affectionless psychopaths
  • 12 of 14 had experienced prolonged separation from mothers in first 2 years of life
  • 5 of remaining thieves (30) had experiences separation
  • control group - 2 of 44 had experienced long separations but none were characterised as affectionless psychopaths
• conclusion of 44 thieves study - bowlby

  • prolonged separation/deprivation during early years can be linked with affectionless psychopathy
• evaluation points for maternal deprivation - bowlbys theory

  • counter evidence
  • poor methodology
  • evidence is poor
  • real world application
• counter evidence (-) for maternal deprivation

  • some research findings contradict maternal deprivation theory
  • researchers have replicated bowlbys 44 thieves study on larger scale of 500 - found history of prolonged seperation from mother didnt predict criminality of difficulty in forming later relationships
  • bowlbys theory is limited as alternative findings suggest other factors affect individuals outcomes instead of early maternal deprivation
• poor methodology (-) for maternal deprivation

  • bowlby used samples of orphaned children during WWII, children growing up in poor quality orphanage + 44 thieves to study maternal deprivation
  • all sources used were flawed as evidence due to personal + collective experiences potentially causing later developmental difficulties (growing up post war)
  • due to flaws - cause and effect cant be established due to multiple factors contributing
  • difficult to draw conclusion and generalise findings - limits theory - validity lowered
  • cant establish if affectionless psychopathy causes deprivation or other
• evidence is poor (-) for maternal deprivation

  • key research supporting maternal deprivation (44 thieves) relies on self report techniques
  • study may have been affected by social desirability bias - making results inaccurate
  • potential researcher bias - data was collected by bowlby who knew what he wanted to find
  • as result of bias - results cannot be considered totally accurate and free from bias - meaning conclusions generated are limited - reducing validity
• real world application (+) for maternal deprivation

  • study can be applied to real world
  • taking on findings improvements can be made to institutions to provide good quality care to children
  • procedures put in place - hospitals let parents stay overnight with children - prevents seperation or deprivation
  • knowledge gained - having already applied knowledge from this studys findings it increases reliability for bowlbys maternal deprivation theory