Separation

Separation

1. Robertson and Bowlby 1952

   • Case study of Little John, who was left in a residential nursery while his mother gave birth.
     • At first he behaved normally, gradually he makes an effort to get attention from the nurses but cannot compete with other children. He then seeks comfort in a big teddy bear, he begins to refuse food and stops playing and cries. At first he was happy to see his father but the longer the stay the less enthusiastic he was. When reunited with his mother he rejects and continues to have angry outbursts
   • The case studies like Little John gave evidence for the PDD model
     • Protest - crying and screaming, clinginess and may escape from others
       • Despair - Calms but is still upset, doesn't want comforting, grumpy and withdrawn
         • Detachment - begins to engage with others warily, likely to reject caregiver upon return and show anger

2. Bowlby's 44 Juvenile thieves

   • Bowlby interviewed children and their families who attended a clinic where he worked
   • He compared the backgrounds of 44 juvenile thieves with 44 non-delinquent children.
   • 32% of the thieves were diagnosed by Bowlby as having affectionless psychopathy, the main symptom of which was no moral conscience.
     • Most of these had experience separation for at least one week before the age of 5. 17 in thieves group, 2 in control.
   • Separation in early life can lead to long term ill effects, particularly affecting emotional development

3. AO2

   • Bowlby's study is supported by other research such as Goldfarb 1947, in which he studies 2 groups of children, 1 who had spent first few months of life in an orphanage, the other had spent 3 years there. Both were then fostered. Both tested frequently until age of 12 on social skills and IQ. Goldfarb found that the children who had spent 3 years at the orphanage preformed poorly on IQ tests and had lower developed social skills, hence agreeing with Bowlby's conclusion that separation in early life can affect development.
   • There are 3 factors that affect a child's response to separation. Firstly the age of the child has an impact on their response, children aged 12-18 will response to short term separation strongest. Schaffer and Callander 1959 studied children in hospital. Those aged 7 months or less and showed minimal upset were as 12-18 month old children showed the strongest reaction.
     • Type of attachment is another factor, the type between the PCG and child will affect the child's response to separation. A securely attached child is more likely to cope better than an insecurely attached child, this may be because they feel secure in belief the PCG will return
       • Gender of the child is also an affecting factor, boys will respond to separation more strongly than girls.