Maternal deprivation

Maternal deprivation

1. overall Bowlby proposes that attachment is important for the emotional psychological intellectual development of the child

   • if the child is deprived of this=serious long lasting problems
   • first 2.5 years is critical period for child to gain primary attachment.

2. 44 juvenile thiefs

   • most of the thiefs were classed as psychopaths
     • 12 suffered prolonged separation of more than 6 months before age of 2
   • none of the control group were affectionless psychopaths

3. Bowlby states anti social behaviour and emotional problems is due to maternal deprivation

4. correlation study does not establish cause and effect between psychopathy and mother

5. Clinical interviews

   • express feelings and emotions for rich data
   • may have been influenced with social desirability

6. study uses retrospective data

   • may have been distorted

7. participants were allocated randomly= individual differences may effect

8. children may have been suffering from privation.

9. Lewis 1954 found no link between mother or criminality