The Maternal Deprivation Theory

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Whether that be a short or long period. Maternal Deprivation occurs when an attachment is ‘broken’. He also believes that the attachment figure does not have to be the mother of the child. It is known that Bowlby was in fact brought up by his nurse maid, Minnie and his Nanny, Nanny Friend. This is perhaps why he believes it doesn’t have to be the mother who gives the child love and affection in their early years. John Bowlby feels that the relationship between baby and mother or caregiver should develop before the age of two and a half years otherwise the child could be at risk of emotional or social disturbance. For example, not being able to make friends further on in life, or being unable to express …show more content…

This means that the bond is natural, and that the child is born with this natural bond. Bowlby’s main experiment was known as The Juvenile Thieves Study. This experiment took place for Bowlby to test his Maternal Deprivation Theory. This experiment was tested on 44 children – who had stealing connections - who all attended a child guidance clinic. Bowlby’s idea was to compare these 44 juvenile thieves with another group of 44 children who may have experienced a hard life, but who did not steal. Bowlby’s findings were as follows: “Fourteen of the thieves were classified as "affectionless", compared with none in the control group. Seventeen of the thieves had been separated from their mother for more than six months before they were aged five, compared with only two who had experienced such separation in the control …show more content…

For example one change which took place after Bowlby’s theory was introduced was that in hospitals parents are now encouraged to stay with their children. With many providing hotels for the parents or carers. Whereas previously parents would simply leave their children for the duration they were in the hospital. When parents used to leave their children, it was said by some that the bond between mother and child would be broken. Another change was that social workers were strongly encouraged to leave children with their parents at home, rather than putting them into a care home or institute. It was claimed that a bad home was better than an institution. Furthermore, another change was that parents were asked to stay with children for a few hours on their first few days of school to get them used to the different environment, when previously they would just be left at the school