In comparison, the control group, who had committed no crimes, had the lowest rate of separation from their mothers (less that 4%).
This also suggests that in its most severe form maternal deprivation can lead to affectionless psychopathy.
Although this evidence provides a good insight into the effects of maternal deprivation, there are some flaws in the methodology. One of the key problems is the reliability of the information collected. The data on the separations experienced in childhood was provided by the families of the children; therefore it is possible that there were gaps in knowledge, or exaggerations of the truth. The inquiries were all retrospective, so there was no way of accurately measuring how frequently and for how long separations were, other than by relying on the families’ accounts.
From the data collected it is not possible to say whether each child suffered deprivation or privation (as some may have lacked the opportunity to form an attachment to begin with), this is important as the results could be different for children from each category.
As Bowlby himself made the diagnosis of ‘affectionless psychopathy’, his decision could have been influenced by the expectations he had for the experiment. The results would have been more reliable if the diagnosis had been made independently, as it would not then be questioned.
If the results are accurate and are counted as valid, the study still only shows a correlation between deprivation and ‘affectionless psychopathy’- one cannot be said to cause the other, as not all children who suffer deprivation end up without a social conscience.
This study, as it is not longitudinal, does not follow the children to see how they progress. Therefore we are unable to conclude from these findings whether or not the effects of maternal deprivation are long-lasting. It is possible that after a period of difficulty through adolescence, a person may recover and lead a normal life like any other.
Rutter et al. (1976) suggested that the deprivation from maternal separation was not the cause of behavioural problems or social maladjustment. He found in a study of 2000 young boys from the Isle of Wight that delinquency was most common where separations had occurred due to family discord. He therefore concluded that not only separation, but family discord also, that causes the emotional and social problems experienced.
Douglas (1975) carried out a longitudinal study of 5000 children born in a certain week of 1946. The research subjects were monitored up to the age of 26. It was found that of these children, those who spent more than a week in hospital, or regularly visited the hospital under the age of four, were more likely than others to experience behavioural problems in adolescence.
These results are considered to be reliable as the sample size is very large, meaning that anomalous data could be identified and excluded, and a general trend would be easier to find. As the research took place over a long period of time, it is also possible to see whether a certain child is merely going through a difficult phase, or if they have been emotionally disturbed by separation in infancy. When a study is carried out at one set date in time it is possible that the results do not truly reflect the nature of the child and how they have been affected, as it is possible for the child to act out of character for one day, or to be suffering emotional or social difficulty for only a small number or years, rather than a lifetime. Across 26 years it is likely that any anomalous events would also be excluded, so the results would not be negatively affected.
The study also has ecological validity as it is looking at real life situations- the way a certain group of children develop- rather than using an artificial laboratory experiment.
However it cannot be certain that the separations in infancy caused the behavioural problems witnessed at adolescence. Spending time in hospital may have caused trauma and psychological damage- not due to the separation from the mother, but from experiencing an illness or frequently being taken to a place of insecurity or discomfort. In each individual case it is not stated whether the infant was visited by the mother regularly, or whether they were truly separated for a significant period of time. The infants may have received emotional care in the hospitals as well, which according to Bowlby (1953) would suffice as a maternal replacement and would prevent the effects of maternal deprivation. Although this is unlikely to have occurred in the 1940s, as it was widely believed that if a child’s physical needs were met, they would be able to cope emotionally as well.
Spitz and Wolf (1946) chose to study the effects of separation on 100 children who had been admitted to hospital. The children were observed, and it was noted that although they were psychologically ‘normal’ upon admission, they became depressed in hospital. It was found that if the children returned home after less than three months they managed to recover well, however if the separation was longer it was a rare occurrence for the child to recover from the deprivation and depression.
This shows how the length of separation can determine the long-term effects of maternal deprivation. The children who were only separated for a short period of time were able to recover from their emotional problems once returned home, but those who remained away from their caregiver for a long period of time were very unlikely to ever fully recover. So, for some of the subjects the effects were only temporary, but for others the effects were long-lasting and irreversible.
This research has ecological validity as it is the study of a real life event, so shows the exact effects of deprivation, unlike a laboratory experiment which would only show the possible effects (and would also be highly unethical as it could cause permanent psychological harm).
However the study cannot be assumed to be entirely accurate. It is unknown whether the illness itself could have caused the depression, rather than the maternal deprivation. A quick recovery from an illness would prevent the depression from becoming irreversible as the patient ought to begin to feel better after returning to their normal home and being around their family and friends again.
Bowlby (1956) contradicted his own Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis when observing 100 emotionally and psychologically ‘normal’ children admitted to hospital, between the ages of 5-24 months. The children were visited weekly by their parents, however received no other emotional care during the week. According to Bowlby these frequent separations during the illness would be sufficient to break the attachment bond due to deprivation, and would cause emotional and social problems. However, it was found that once the children started school and were assessed by their tutors, little difference could be seen between the hospitalized children and their peers. They were classed as being as well emotionally and intellectually adjusted as the other children in their class, so the period of hospitalization had no adverse effect.
The accuracy of this study is questioned though as it is unknown whether the infants had already formed attachments with their mothers. Some of the children may not have formed an attachment, and so the process would merely be delayed and so they would be unaffected as long as this attachment had been made by the end of the critical period (two and a half years of age). If the attachment had already been made then the results may reflect Bowlby’s expectations that inadequate emotional care during the separation from the mother would lead to deprivation and the breaking of the bond, which in turn would affect the emotional and social functioning of the child, which would be seen as the child start school and could be compared to other children who had not suffered from deprivation.
Research shows that maternal deprivation alone does not cause long-lasting and irreversible effects, but it is the time spent away from the mother that determines whether the emotional difficulties will be long-lasting. If a separation is relatively short the child is likely to recover- as shown in Spitz and Wolf’s (1946) experiment, where infants who spent less than 3 months in hospital recovered from depression. Whist, if the separation is more significant it is likely that the effects will be irreversible- in the same study those children who remained in hospital for longer than 3 months rarely recovered from the depression.
As all the ecologically reliable research studies occur in real life situations, as opposed to being staged in a laboratory experiment, there is a certain degree of inaccuracy with the results. It is not possible to make a full conclusion because of the number of confounding variables that cannot be controlled that are present. These would be eliminated in a laboratory experiment, however cannot be removed in a real life observational study. Such variables are the care the child receives in hospital- whether the emotional care is sufficient or not, whether an attachment has already been formed with the mother (this may vary amongst a subject group under the age of 1, as there is no specific time for making the first attachment, only a period set by the general trend of infants), and whether or not the infant is visited regularly by his/her mother. Each of these variables could affect the results as the subsequent emotional problems may or may not occur according to the specific situation. If an infant that has not yet formed an attachment with the mother is separated for a month at the age of four months, it is likely that the attachment will be made after returning home, as the critical period has not ended, and therefore no long-lasting or irreversible effects will be observed. However, for a child who has already formed an attachment with the mother, being separated for a month without being visited and without an emotional care substitution would result in deprivation and the breaking of the attachment bond, therefore causing difficulties later in life that may be irreversible.
