Bowlby's theory of Maternal Deprivation

• What was the idea of maternal deprivation?

  The continual presence of care from a mother or mother substitute is essential for normal psychological development of babies and toddlers, both emotionally and intellectually.

  Being separated from a mother has serious consequences (maternal deprivation)
• What does separation mean?

  The child is not physically in the presence of the primary caregiver
• What does deprivation mean?

  Losing emotional care as a result of separation
• What does privation mean?

  No attachment bond had the chance to form
• What is the critical period?

  A period of 2.5 years where if the child is separated from their primary caregiver with no substitute ,and so are deprived of their emotional care for an extended period of time, psychological damage was inevitable.

  Also believed in the sensitive period - up to 5 years old
• Effects on development - Intellectual:

  Deprivation of maternal care for too long would cause delayed intellectual development, characterised by abnormally low IQ (mental retardation)

  Goldfarb - Found lower IQ in children who remained in institutions as opposed to those who were fostered and thus had a higher standard of emotional care
• Effects on development - Emotional:

  Affectionless psychopathy - an inability to experience guilt or strong emotion towards others.

  Prevents a person from developing fulfilling relationships
• Bowlby's 44 thieves study:

  Examined the link between affectionless psychopathy and maternal deprivation
• Bowlby's 44 thieves study: Procedure

  • Used a sample of 44 teenage delinquents accused of stealing
  • Interviewed for signs of affectionless psychopathy
  • Families were also interviewed to establish if there was prolonged early separation from their mothers
  • A control group on 44 non criminal teenagers, with emotional problems were all assessed to see how often maternal deprivation occurred to the non thief children
• Bowlby's 44 thieves study: Findings

  • 14/44 of the thieves could be described as affectionless psychopaths - 12 of which had experienced prolonged separation from mothers in the first 2 years of their life
  • Only 5 of the remaining 30 thieves had experienced separations
  • Only 2/44 in the control group had experienced long separations
• Bowlby's 44 thieves study: Conclusion

  Prolonged early separation/deprivation caused affectionless psychopathy