Bowlbys maternal deprivation theory

maternal deprivation

emphasises the value of maternal care.

bowlby believed that it wasn’t enough to sure a child was well fed and safe. he believed that chldren needed a intimate and continuous relationship with a mother

prolonged emotional deprivation lead to..

long term consequences in terms of emotional development

critical period

if children are deprived of love for long period of time between 0-2,5 yrs old this could affect their emotional development

believed the risk was up until 5 yrs

bowlby 44 juvenile thieves procedure

analysed histories of previous patients at the child guidance clinic in london and found that all of the children were emotionally maladjusted

88 patients were chosen, 44 were thieves, other 44 were control

established whether children were thieves or affectionless thieves and whether they had time away from mother through interviewing families

bowlby 44 juvenile thieves findings

86% classed as affectionless thieves has experienced repeated separations from their mothers before age of 2 wheres only 4% of control had frequent separations

39% of all thieves had experienced separations

weakness- not full explanation

radke-yarrow-studied mothers who experienced depression and found that 55% of their children was insecurely attached compared with 29% in non depressed groups

suggests maternal deprivation does. not just refer to a parent being physcally around but also emotionally.

suggests that psychological separation can also lead deprivation which bowlbys theory did not account for

strength-supporting research for long term effects

bilfuco-studied women who had experienced separation from mothers due to death or temporary separation over a year. found 25% later experienced depression or anxiety compared with 15% who had no experience of separation.

demonstrates that experiencing maternal deprivation can lead to difficulties later in life.

risk of developing a mental health condition was greater in those experiencing the separationd before the age of 6 supports concept of critical period

weakness-his definition has been challenged

rutter-argued tha he didnt make it clear whether the childs attachment bond had formed but been broken or had never formed in the first place.

privation refers to situations where an attachment bond has never developed which he believed caused the long term effects

suggests bowlby overestimated the impact of these separations on long term effect on a childs emotional development.

reduces credibility