bowlby

... Discuss evidence which supports Bowlby's maternal deprivation hypothesis (18 marks) The term maternal deprivation refers to the idea of an infants bond with their mother being disrupted or broken after a bond had been formed. Evidence for the negative effects of this disruption comes from Bowlby's 44 Juvenile thieves study. Bowlby recorded case histories of the boys he saw at the London guidance clinic where he worked. He compared a sample of 44 'thieves' to 44 youths with no criminal record. Of the thieves 14 were classed as affectionless psychopaths with no remorse for their actions or concern for others. They also had difficulty forming relationships with others. The key factor affecting this was a disrupted bond in childhood. They had spent their early years in residential homes or hospitals. This supports the idea that early separation leads to later developmental problems. Whilst this is used to support Bowlby's own ideas we have

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