Separation. Even fairly brief separation from a primary care giver has severe emotional effects on the child. Robertson and Bowlby (1952) studied young children who were separated from their mother for a period of time
Separation
Even fairly brief separation from a primary care giver has severe emotional effects on the child. Robertson and Bowlby (1952) studied young children who were separated from their mother for a period of time, often before she has gone into hospital. They found that there were 3 stages in the child’s response. This is called the protest-despair-detachment (PDD) model:
- Protest – often very intense. The child cried much of the time, and seems panic stricken.
- Despair – Involving a total loss of hope. The child is often apathetic and shows little interest in its surroundings.
- Detachment – During which the child seems to behave in a less distressed way. If the mother re-appears during this stage, she is not responded to with any great interest.