Review

• The aim of the study was to investigate the effects of maternal deprivation
• According to the MDH, the disruption of the attachment between a child and the primary caregiver during the early stages of life is likely Yo have serious affects on the child’s intellectual, social, and emotional development
• The sample was 44 criminal teenagers accused of stealing
• The sample also consisted of 44 non-criminal but emotionally disturbed young people
• Bowlby used a matched pairs design
• Bowlby interviewed the children’s families to find out if the children had experienced prolonged separation from their mothers during the critical period and for how long
• Over half of the thieves groups had been separated from their mothers for more than Six months during the first five years of life. This was the case for only two children in the control group.
• Bowlby also found that 32% of the thieves showed affectionless psychopathy
• The study was a natural experiment
• Interviews were used so it is likely that the answers were influenced by social desirability
• The use of retrospective data makes the results valid