Privation

Privation

1. Deprivation or privation?

   • Bowlby did not distinguish between the effects of separation and privation. We now know that the long term effects of privation are far more severe than the effects of deprivation. Rutter believes the effects Bowlby attributed to separation may well have been due to privation. Children in institutions such as orphanages never had the opportunity to form attachments because of the high turn over of staff so were effectively suffering privation as opposed to the deprivation that Bowlby had assumed.

2. Privation is the failure to form an attachment and can be caused following the death of both parents (most likely during times of war) resulting in children being raised in institutions or it can be caused by extreme neglect in which children are raised in isolation.

3. Case Studies

   • Genie (1977)
     • Found at the age of 13, she had been kept tied to a potty chair for much of her life. She had been severely punished for making a noise. When found she had the appearance of a six or seven year old. Curtiss described her as ‘unsocialised, primitive and hardly human.’
     • Following her discovery she continued to be mistreated at the hands of doctors and psychologists who were more interested in furthering their own careers than in Genie’s welfare. She never acquired full language skills and failed to adjust socially.
     • Unfortunately we have no way of knowing whether Genie was, as her father suggested, brain damaged at birth. If this had been the case this could partly explain her lack of progress.
   • Czech twins, PM and JM (1976)
     • PM and JM were male identical twins born in the former Czechoslovakia 1960. Their mother died at birth. They spent 11 months in a children's home before being reared by their father and stepmother.
     • The father was of low intellect and the stepmother was particularly brutal in her treatment of the twins. They were kept in a small closet or cellar. They were discovered at the age of 7. Their speech was poor and they had rickets so consequently could not walk
     • They were subsequently adopted by two sisters and were well cared for. They were tested at the age of 14 and showed no long term ill effects. In later life they both found employment and ‘enjoyed warm relationships.’
   • it does appear that given favourable care a near full recovery from early privation is possible.
   • Reasons why Genie’s outcome was not good
     • 1) She may have been brain damaged at birth as her father had suggested
     • 2) The later age at which she was discovered
     • 3) She had been reared alone whereas the twins had each other
     • 4) The better care the twins received after being rescued.

4. Issues with the case studies

   • Ethical
     • Case studies provide ideal opportunities for psychologists to study situations that could not be created in any other way.
     • However, in so doing they need to keep the best interests of their participants in mind. This doesn’t appear to have been the case with Genie.
     • In the case of privation we usually have young children who because of their age or mental state are unable to give full consent to research. Carers may also feel pressurised into allowing access to psychologists even though it may not be in the child’s interest.
   • Methodological
     • Case studies can provide lots of detailed and intimate information about a particular condition and its causes. However, by their nature they are one-offs and involve patients who have been exposed to a unique set of conditions and are therefore suffering unique symptoms.
       • it is difficult to then generalise findings to others or to come up with a theory based on what is likely to be one disturbed individual
     • Two cases of extreme privation but with very different outcomes Twins & Genie