Maternal deprivation hypothesis

Maternal deprivation hypothesis

1. Bowlby (1951) considered that a strong attachment to a mother figure was essential for the psychological, emotional and intellectual development of babies and toddlers. Loss of an existing attachment, ‘maternal deprivation’ could result in serious and long-lasting problems - even affectionless psychopathy. If the child was separated from their primary attachment figure during the first 2.5years of life) for an extended period of time and in the absence of substitute care damage was inevitable.

2. Effects on of prolonged separation on emotional development- the 44 juvenile thieves (Bowlby, 1944)

   • Aim: To investigate the long-term effects of maternal deprivation
   • Procedure: He selected an opportunity sample of 88 children attending his clinic. Group 1- thief group: 31 boys and 13 girls in the ‘theft group’ were referred to him because of their stealing. Group 2- control group: 34 boys and 10 girls were referred to him because of emotional problems. The two groups were matched for age and IQ. The children and their parents were interviewed and tested by a psychiatrist (Bowlby), a psychologist and a social worker focusing specifically on their early life experiences.
     • Interrater reliability- group decision
   • Findings: Thief group: 14 children from the theft group were identified as affectionless psychopaths, 12 of those had experienced prolonged separation of more than six months from their mothers in their first two years of life whereas only 5 of the 30 children not classified as affectionless psychopaths had experienced separations. Out of the 44 children in the control group, only 2 had experienced prolonged separations and none of them were affectionless psychopaths.

3. Effects of prolonged separation on intellectual development - (Goldfarb 1995)

   • Goldfarb studied 15 children who had been raised in an institution for the first 3 years of their lives and were then placed in foster care. He compared them to a group of children who had been in foster care since early infancy. Goldfarb found that the institution group, even in adolescence, were delayed intellectually compared to the foster care group, displayed more problem behaviours, were socially less mature and had problems making and sustaining relationships.
     • Invalid - He studied privation but called it deprivation. The 15 children never had an attachment while deprivation is losing an attachment
   • Goldfarb concluded that early institutionalisation resulted in developmental deficits that were not overcome once children were placed in more stimulating and loving environments.