Separation and Deprivation (Edexcel A-Level Psychology): Revision Notes

Separation and Deprivation

Introduction to separation and deprivation

Bowlby's theory of attachment proposes that children develop a close bond with a primary caregiver during the first few years of life. When this bond is disrupted through separation, there can be serious consequences for the child's emotional development. Bowlby based this hypothesis on observations from child guidance clinics and research conducted in institutional care settings and residential nurseries.

Short-term effects of separation: protest, despair, detachment

Children can display separation anxiety from around seven months of age. They show a strong desire to remain close to their mother and experience distress when separated. This pattern of emotional distress following separation was clearly observed in Ainsworth's Strange Situation research.

Robertson and Bowlby's observations (1952)

James Robertson worked as an observer for Bowlby in residential nursery and hospital settings. He systematically recorded the behaviour of children who came to these institutions. At the time, children's distress during separation from caregivers was rarely acknowledged and parental visitation was severely restricted.

Robertson documented the distress exhibited by children at separation, which led Robertson and Bowlby (1952) to identify three stages of distress:

1. Protest

• This initial stage can last several hours or days
• The child cries profusely and throws himself around
• The child actively seeks the mother figure
• During this phase, the child will refuse comfort from other adults or display exaggerated clinging behaviour towards any adult

2. Despair

• Once the initial protest and screaming stops, the child no longer anticipates the mother's return
• The child becomes increasingly hopeless and withdrawn
• The child displays apathetic behaviour and demonstrates mourning
• Self-soothing behaviours emerge: the child may reject comfort from others and display rocking, thumb sucking, and cuddling inanimate objects

3. Detachment

• The child regains interest in the environment and even accepts comfort and interaction with other adults
• However, when the mother returns, the child does not display normal reunion behaviour
• The child rejects the mother, turning away from her and refusing her comfort
• The child appears to reject the mother because they feel she has rejected them
• Prolonged or repeated separations can lead to superficial interactions between the child and other adult figures

Evaluation of short-term separation effects

Individual differences

Children's responses to short-term deprivation depend on various individual factors, including age and resilience to separation. In Robertson's observations, one small infant named John was only 17 months old when his mother was admitted to hospital for several days to give birth to a second child. His father worked all day and had no relatives available to care for him, although his father did visit whilst John was in the nursery.

Additional factors affecting distress

Some psychologists argue that separation itself does not cause such acute distress in children. Instead, associated factors surrounding the separation may be responsible, such as:

• Introduction to an unfamiliar environment
• The length and nature of the separation
• The child's resilience

In a study of matched children who were accompanied into hospital by their mother versus those left in hospital alone (Fagin, 1966), only the unaccompanied children showed distress. This highlighted that the absence of the mother figure caused distress, not the unfamiliarity of the environment.

Extreme cases: Spitz's research

In extreme cases, the effects of separation can be severe, particularly if separation is prolonged and occurs at an early age. René Spitz (1887-1974) conducted research in children's orphanages in South America during the 1940s.

In one institution, babies were separated from their mothers at three months and placed into an orphanage to await fostering. In another institution, annexed to a female prison, the babies of inmates were separated from their mothers but received regular visits so their mothers could care for them.

The prison babies thrived whilst the orphaned children displayed anaclitic depression and developmental delay.

The maternal deprivation hypothesis

Bowlby proposed the maternal deprivation hypothesis to explain the adverse consequences caused by separation between a child and caregiver during the sensitive period. The negative effects could be observed in the longer-term development of the child's mental health.

How long are long-term effects observed?

For the purpose of this research, the short-term effects of separation have been described over approximately one week. However, Bowlby drew on additional research to describe the development of behavioural responses to separation over the first year of life.

Long-term effects of deprivation

The effects of maternal deprivation on long-term child development were largely based on research of institutionalised children conducted during the 1940s.

Goldfarb's study (1943, 1947)

Evaluation: Strengths

• The study provides important evidence about the potential long-term consequences of institutional care
• The matching of participants on key variables (maternal education and occupation) strengthened the comparison

Evaluation: Weaknesses

Bowlby's 44 thieves study

To investigate the long-term consequences of deprivation, Bowlby conducted his own research on children attending the guidance clinic where he worked.

Evaluation: Strengths

• The study provides valuable evidence linking early separation experiences to later behavioural problems
• The use of a control group strengthens the comparison
• The detailed interview and assessment process provided rich data

Evaluation: Weaknesses

• The research lacks objectivity as Bowlby conducted the interviews and assessments himself, potentially introducing bias

Evaluation of long-term deprivation research

The long-term consequences of maternal deprivation have been found to be associated with later emotional, social and cognitive difficulties. However, it cannot be firmly established that the deprivation alone led to such problems in later life.

In Bowlby's study of 44 juvenile thieves, we cannot be certain of the circumstances around the separation period or the reason for such separation. It could be that the reason for the separation itself led to later problems.

Alternative explanations

Goldfarb's findings reconsidered

Goldfarb acknowledged that factors associated with orphanages at the time, such as emotional neglect, contributed to poor development of the children who remained in care. However, he argued that it was the separation that was the most important factor.

Other researchers disagree with this view. Impoverished environments lack stimulation and are associated with developmental retardation and poor language development. Therefore, poor long-term outcomes could be associated with unstimulating environments rather than lack of a mother figure.

Rutter's alternative explanation

Reducing negative effects of deprivation

According to Bowlby's theory, the short-term effects of separation can only be truly ameliorated (made better or less harmful) by reunion between the caregiver and the child. However, this is not always possible, as modern society requires both parents in families to be working, meaning that children are often placed in day care.

Robertson and Robertson study (1971)

Following on from his observations of children attending hospital and residential nursery care, James and his wife Joyce Robertson (1971) conducted a series of experimental trials that combined their roles as observers and temporary foster carers for four children whose mothers were going into hospital.

Evaluation: Strengths

• The research provided practical evidence about how to reduce separation distress
• The detailed observations before and during foster care strengthened the findings
• The study has had practical applications in childcare policy

Evaluation: Weaknesses

• Small sample size limits generalisability
• The Robertsons were highly skilled and motivated foster carers, which may not represent typical substitute care
• Ethical concerns about deliberately separating children from parents, even temporarily, for research purposes

Practical implications

The negative effects of separation can be reduced by the provision of a substitute mother figure with concern over the child's emotional and intellectual needs. Greater contact and comfort from a substitute carer who provides attention and stimulation can reduce the distress experienced by a child.

These findings can be seen in practice today in day care centres and nurseries. Government policies for childcare provision regulate the permitted child-to-staff ratios for childcare providers to ensure that children receive a sufficient amount of attention and stimulation from substitute carers. This has had an impact on recent developments in childcare provision that will be discussed later in this section.