The Effects of Lack of Attachment (DP IB Psychology): Revision Note

The effects of lack of attachment

• Lack of attachment happens when:

  • a child has not had the opportunity to attach to a primary caregiver

  • a child has had a period of separation from their primary caregiver (traditionally referred to as 'maternal deprivation', proposed by Bowlby, 1953)

• The consequences of maternal deprivation can be both emotional and intellectual

  • E.g., delayed literacy, anti-social behaviour, depression, impulsivity

• It is now understood that there are long-term effects of prolonged separation from a primary caregiver

  • This is primarily due to the absence of emotional care

  • The consequences of lack of attachment involve difficulties in developing normal relationships

  • Lack of attachment is also a risk factor for the development of criminality

Research which supports the effects of lack of attachment

Bowlby's 44 thieves study (1944)

Aim:

• To investigate the social, emotional and psychological effects of maternal deprivation

Participants:

• An opportunity sample of 88 children from the Child Guidance Clinic in London, who had been categorised as 'emotionally maladjusted'

• Half of the children, 44, were accused of theft (i.e., they were the 'thieves' of the study's title)

• The other 44 children, who had no history of theft, made up the control group

Procedure:

• Participants were interviewed for signs of being 'affectionless psychopaths'

  • This was Bowlby's term, used to identify behaviour which lacks empathy, is callous and cruel and has no sense that actions have consequences

  • Bowlby suggested that this characteristic might enable someone to behave criminally

• The children's families were also interviewed by Bowlby to establish whether the thieves had had prolonged periods of separation from their caregiver(s)

  • E.g., separations due to continual or repeated stays in hospital or foster homes with few visits from their family

• The thieves' data was compared to that of the control group

Results:

• Bowlby categorised 14 of the 44 thieves as affectionless psychopaths

  • Of these, 86% had experienced prolonged periods of separation from their caregivers in the first two years of their lives

  • 17% of the remaining thieves had experienced prolonged separation

  • 40% of the thieves' group had experienced early separation from their caregivers

• Of the control group, only 5% had experienced prolonged separation

Conclusion:

• Prolonged, early separation from caregivers is linked to affectionless psychopathy

Evaluation of the effects of lack of attachment

Strengths

• Studies show support for Bowlby's findings on maternal deprivation

  • Research into women who had experienced separation from their mothers for at least a year found that 25% experienced depression/anxiety, compared with 15% of a control group (no separation)

  • The results also showed that the intensity of mental health issues was far greater in those who had experienced separation before the age of six years

  • This supports Bowlby's idea of a critical period for attachment to develop and that maternal separation has long-lasting consequences

Limitations

• Bowlby conducted the interviews with the children and families himself

  • This could lead to confirmation bias in the findings, as he may have looked for examples of affectionless psychopathy in the thieves' sample more than in the control group

• Bowlby may have confused deprivation with privation

  • Deprivation occurs when an attachment that has already been formed has been broken

  • Privation is when attachment has never been formed

    • The children of the 44 thieves study had disrupted early lives and may never have formed attachments in the first place

    • This suggests that Bowlby may have placed too much blame on the effects of deprivation on children's development

Link to concepts

Change

• Bowlby's study changed how people think about rearing and caring for children

  • It had a positive impact on how children were treated during separation from their parents, particularly during hospital stays, particularly with regard to encouraging regular visits from family

    • This means that there are real-world applications to Bowlby's research, as it highlights the importance of maternal/family care

Perspective

• Bowlby’s theory has been instrumental in setting out a theory of child development which stems from the idea that attachment is part and parcel of how identity forms in the child and which can be seen in the emerging adult

• His theory is based on the idea that humans have a strong evolutionary urge to bond to another human who will take care of, nurture and protect them

  • Bowlby proposed that millions of years of evolution had produced a behaviour that is essential to the survival chances of human infants