Disruption in attachment (Short term effects)

Disruption in attachment (Short term effects)

1. Deprivation - attachment broken either temporarily, due to hospitalisation, or permanently, due to death.

   • Privation - never had the opportunity to form an attachment

2. AO1

   • Robertson & Bowlby (1952)
     • PDD model
       • Once baby reaches 8/9 months and have made their first attachment, likely to go through stages of PDD if separation occurs
         • 1. Protest - Cries, screams, protests angrily when parent leaves, clings to parent, escapes others that try to comfort it, panic is usual
           • 2. Despair - Apathetic, withdrawn and uninterested in what's happening around them. Occasionally cry and call
             • 3. Detachment - If separation continues they may engage with others - it will look as if they are getting over it but they are hiding their feelings. When parent returns, they reject them and show anger
     • Little John
       • Aim: To investigate effects of disruption of attachment
         • Method: Natural experiment - detailed observation
       • Fostered 4 children whilst mothers in hospital; tried to keep child's regime as similar to children's home environment as possible; 4 settled well; dad visited regularly
         • A 5th child (John) placed in residential nursery for 9 days
           • After 2 days: behaviour deteriorated; attention seeking; lots of time crying (Protest - first stage of PDD)
             • Not getting attention he wanted, formed an attachment with a teddy bear; during first week was pleased to see Dad but by second week, apathetic and largely ignored Dad (Despair - second stage of PDD)
               • Mother finally returned but John screamed and tried to distance himself from her (Detachment - third stage of PDD)
       • Conclusions:
         • 1. John was going through PDD
           • 2. If steps are taken to minimise the separation (e.g. discussing with real mother to ensure familiar routines are kept such as bed time, washing, eating, etc.) the effects can be small
             • 3. As a result, the care of children in hospitals is very different from 30 years ago. Recognised that good psychological care is vital for physical rehabilitation, so steps are taken to minimise bond disruption. More regular, even around the clock, visiting hours are now available

3. AO2

   • High in ecological validity
     • Natural environment
       • Results can be generalised beyond study setting to real life cases of disruption of attachment
   • Lacks demand characteristics
     • Natural observation
       • John didn't know he was part of the experiment
         • Therefore behaviours displayed as a result of short term attachment disruption would be more natural and valid
           • Therefore increasing the validity
   • Low population validity
     • Only 5 infants
       • Difficult to generalise results to target population of other children that may experience disruption of attachment
   • Led to practical applications
     • Used to improve hospital residential nurseries
       • e.g. more regular visiting hours, keeping routines similar to at home, often talking to child about their parents
         • Reduced the negative effects of disruption of attachment