Bowlby’s theory Of maternal deprivation

• Value of Maternal Care

  • It was assumed, prior to Bowlby, that children who had been separated from their caregivers, required a good standard of care consisting only of physical care and food.
  • Bowlby believed it wasn’t enough to make sure a child was well-fed and kept safe and warm.
  • Bowlby shed light on the importance of a ‘warm, intimate and continuous relationship’ with a mother/mother-substitute.
• Critical Period

  • Bowlby believed that a young child who is denied warm, intimate and continuous relationship with the mother/mother-substitute may become emotionally disturbed.
  • However, a child will only become emotionally disturbed if:
  • Separation happens during the critical period - before the age of about 2.5 years (however there is continuing risk up until age of 5 years).
  • If there is no substitute mother-person available (separation doesn’t necessarily mean emotional deprivation).
• Effect of emotional deprivation on development

  • Bowlby identified affectionless psychopathy as the inability to experience guilt or strong emotion for others. 
  • This prevents a person developing normal relationships and is associated with criminality.
  • Affectionless psychopaths cannot appreciate the feelings of victims and so lack remorse for their actions.
• Bowlby's 44 thieves study

  Aim: This study examined the links between affectionless psychopathy and maternal deprivation.

  Procedure: Bowlby analysed case histories of his patients in the Child Guidance Clinic, London. All children were

  emotionally maladjusted. 88 children studied - 44 had been caught stealing, the other half were the control group.

  Bowlby interviewed the thieves for signs of 'affectionless psychopathy' (lacking signs of affection, shame and responsibility) and interviewed families to find out about prolonged separation from their mother.
• Results: 14/44 thieves were affectionless psychopaths and 17/44 had maternal separation. Of the 14 that were affectionless, 12 also had experienced prolonged separation in the first two years of life. In the control group 2/44 had maternal separation but 0/44 were categorised as affectionless psychopaths.

  Conclusion: These findings suggest that prolonged early separations are linked to affectionless psychopathy. So, lack of continuous care may well cause emotional maladjustment or mental disorder.
• Strength - Bowlby's Impact on Post-War Childrearing

  • Significantly influenced post-war thinking on childrearing in hospitals.

  • Previously, children were separated from parents during hospital visits.

  • Research led to significant social changes, encouraging parent visits and allowing greater flexibility in visiting hours.

  • Demonstrates positive application of Bowlby's research in improving childrearing practices.
• Rutter's Limitations of Bowlby's Maternal Deprivation Theory

  • Rutter (1981) criticized Bowlby's definition of deprivation as simplistic.

  • He argued that the term doesn't consider whether the child's attachment bond was formed or never formed.

  • He emphasized the need for clarity between privation (failure to form an attachment) and deprivation (breakdown of an attachment bond).

  • This could impact the validity of the results.
• • One strength of Bowlby’s theory comes from research support
  • Bifulco et al. (1992) found that women who had experienced separation from their mothers were more likely to experience depression or an anxiety disorder, compared to those who had no experience of separation
  • Furthermore, the mental health problems were much greater in those women whose loss occurred before the age of six
  • This supports Bowlby’s idea of a critical period, suggesting that early childhood deprivation can lead to later vulnerability for depression and anxiety disorders
• • One criticism of Bowlby’s theory is that emotional separation is ignored 
  • Radke-Yarrow et al. (1985) found that 55% of children with severely depressed mothers were insecurely attached, in comparison to 29% of children with non-depressed mothers
  • Therefore, even though depressed mothers are physically present, they may be unable to provide suitable emotional care, thus depriving their children
  • This suggests that psychological separation can also lead to deprivation, in the same way as physical separation