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Bowlby (1944): Description (Methodology :silhouettes: (This study was a…
Bowlby (1944): Description
Methodology
:silhouettes:
This study was a series of case studies. There was a control group but the study was not an experiment. The final analysis looked at an association between the two groups of participants (thieves and control group) and experiences of separation.
The focus of the study was on 44 children who attended the Child Guidance Clinic in London. These children were described as thieves due to them stealing previously. Only a few had been charged in court as many of them were too young to be charged.
The sample consisted of 31 boys and 13 girls, aged between 5-17 years old. They were graded in terms of the seriousness of their stealing. Grade four thieves (22/44) had been stealing for a long time, some more than 3 years. Grade one thieves had only committed one theft (4/44).
A control group was used in this study consisting of 44 more children who attended this clinic. This group was similar in age, sex and intelligence (IQ) to the thieves. They were also emotionally disturbed but hadn't been caught stealing.
The mothers of the children in both conditions were used in the study.
All 88 children used in the study were picked through opportunity sampling.
Procedures
:female-scientist::skin-tone-3:
The mothers were interviewed in order to assess the case histories of the children.
On arrival at the clinic each child was given mental tests by a psychologist to assess their intelligence (Binet Scale). The psychologist also noted down the emotional attitude of the child. At the same time a social worker interviewed the child's mother about the child's early psychiatric history. The psychiatrist (Bowlby) then interviewed the mother and child. After this the team discussed the schools and other reports and discussed their conclusions.
Many of the children continued to meet with the psychiatrist weekly over a period of six months or more. The mothers talked over their problems with the social worker. These meetings and discussions enabled a detailed case history to be recorded and also allowed the psychiatrist to diagnose the children's emotional problems.
Findings
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6 personality types were used in the sample. These were Normal, Depressed, Circular, Hyperthymic, Affectionless and Schizoid.
Normal
- Children whose characters appear fairly normal and stable
Depressed
- Children who have been unstable and are now in a more or less depressed stage of mind.
Circular
- Unstable children who show alternating depression and over-activity.
Hyperthymic
- Children who tend to be constantly over -active.
Affectionless
- Children characterised by lack of normal affection, shame or sense of responsibility.
Schizoid
- Children who show marked schizoid or schizophrenic symptoms.
Having identified one group of children as affectionless a very clear pattern of juvenile delinquency was revealed. Looking at all of the thieves 14 were classified as affectionless with 12 of these suffering frequent separations from their mothers.
Example
- Betty I. - Placed in a foster home at age of seven months when her parents split up, she moved from home to home and then spent a year in a convent school before se returned aged 5
Example
- Derek B. - At age 18 months was hospitalised because he developed diphtheria. He stayed there for 9 months and was not visited by his parents during this period.
Example
- Kenneth W. -
Between the ages of 3 and 9, he was primarily looked after by his grandfather who had no control over him
Altogether 17 of the thieves experienced early separation. When considering the remaining 27 thieves, Bowlby reported that 17 had mothers who were: 'Either extremely anxious, irritable or fussy or else were rigid, domineering and oppressive... These are traits that mask unconscious hostility'. Five had fathers who hated them and expressed their hatred openly. However these experiences were also reported by the non-delinquent. Therefore such early experiences might explain emotional problems button delinquency.
Conclusions
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Bowlby said that the separation from the mothers led to a reduced superego which meant a reduced sense of right and wrong.
Other factors were considered such as poverty, lack of leisure facilities and bad housing but the main conclusion was childhood experiences.
It was found that, the earlier the diagnosis, the quicker the treatment. A preferable approach is prevention rather than treatment. It was also suggested that separation from the mother was sometimes uncontrollable due to illness or death during pregnancy.