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Bowlby (1944) Forty -Four Juvenile Thieves : Their Characters and Home -Life

Methodology

  • A series of case studies were used. An association between 2 groups of participants were looked at (thieves and a control group) examining their experiences of separation.
  • Forty four children who attended a child guidance clinic in London were included in the study. Children were described as 'thieves' because stealing was one of their symptoms, but only a few were charged due to their age.
  • The sample consisted of 31 boys and 13 girls aged 5-17 years. They were graded in terms of stealing (1-4). Thieves were mainly of average IQ: 85-114 (15 higher, 2 lower). How did the control group compare?
  • Mothers were also interviewed to assess case histories.

Conclusion

Bowlby subscribed to the psychodynamic view that early experiences are of vital importance in later development. He focused on the mother and child relationship and the importance it has on emotional development. What was suggested to have happened to the superego?

What are the implications for treatment?

Procedures

Background

Initial examination

  • Bowlby used an opportunity sample.
  • Their IQ was assessed and emotional attitude noted.
  • A social worker interviewed the child's mother, what details were recorded?

Therapy

  • A psychologists and social worker reported to Bowlby who then interviewed the child and mother. The children met with the psychiatrist weekly for 6 months or more. The mother talked over her problems with the social worker. What did all this information help Bowlby to do?

Research in the 1930s and 40s suggested that separation from the mother as an infant had long-lasting effects. Spitz and Wolf (1946) studied 90 infants separated from the mother before the age of 1, many of them were severely depressed and a third of them died before their first birthday.

John Bowlby worked as a psychoanalyst in a child guidance clinic and treated emotionally disturbed children. He formed the view that 'habitual delinquency' might be explained through prolonged separation between a mother and his/her child.

Findings

Other factors

(qualitative)

Quantitative findings

Affectionless Characters (qualitative)

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 of the 27 had fathers who hated them and expressed their hatred openly. However, these experiences were also reported by the non-delinquent group. Therefore, such early experiences might explain emotional problems but not delinquency.

Having identified one group of children as affectionless, a very clear pattern emerged in relation to delinquency. Looking at all 44 thieves, Bowlby found that 14 were classified as ‘affectionless’. Of these 14 ‘affectionless’ children 12 had experienced frequent separations from their mothers. For example:

• Betty I. – placed in a foster home at age seven months when her parents split up, she moved from one foster home to another and then spent a year in a convent school before she returned home at the age of five years.

• Derek B. – at age 18 months was hospitalised because he developed diphtheria. He stayed there for nine months and, during that time, was not visited by his parents.

• Kenneth W. – between the ages of three and nine years old he was primarily cared for by his grandfather who had no control over him. Such separations were very rare amongst the other types of thieves. There were 30 non-affectionless thieves, only three of whom had experienced separations. In the control group (44 of them) only two had experienced prolonged separations.

Bowlby distinguished between 6 main personality types-:

What were they, describe each type?

1. Normal

2. Depressed

3. Circular (alternating depression and over-activity)

4. Hyperthymic (constantly over-active)

5. Affectionless (lack of affection, shame or sense of responsibility)

6. Schizoid (schizophrenic symptoms)

14 participants were classified as 'affectionless' psychopaths, of these 12 had experienced separations from mothers.

  • What other factors were also considered?

What do I need to know and be able to do?

Evaluation

Specification Requirements-: Know and understand a classic piece of evidence (including methodology, procedures, findings and conclusions).

Exam practice

Methodology

Alternative Evidence

No causal findings-. There may be other variables that caused the emotional problems. For example, it might be that discord in the home ‘caused’ prolonged separations between mother and child and also caused the affectionless nature of some of the children.

Biased data Bowlby produced a rich record of qualitative data on each of his participants, based on extensive interviews with the children and their families.The data is limited because it is based on the view of one person – albeit a very experienced psychiatrist.

The sample All 88 children in this study were emotionally disturbed. Therefore it may not be appropriate to generalise from this sample to all children.

Rutter et al. (2010) compared Romanian orphans who were adopted before or after the age of six months. Those who were adopted later (i.e. continued to lack emotional care at a very important time in their development) lagged behind a control group of UK children on all measures of physical, cognitive and social development.

1. Critically assess the findings and conclusions of Bowlby's (1944) research 'Forty four juvenile thieves: Their characters and home-life.' (10)

2. Outline the procedures used in Bowlby's (1944) research 'Forty four juvenile thieves: Their characters and home-life.' (10)

3. Discuss the ethical issues and social implications that arise from Bowlbys (1944) research 'Forty four juvenile thieves: Their characters and home-life.' (12)

Social Implications

Ethical Issues

Childcare arrangements have significant economic implications. Increasing industrialisation in the 19th and 20th centuries led to the need for an expanding workforce which included women. It also meant that childcare needed to be provided – so the debate about stay-at-home mums versus goto-work mums began.

One of the forms of support offered to parents is time off work following the birth of their infant. Traditionally, this has only been offered to women in the form of maternity leave; however, from April 2015, parents are entitled to ‘shared parental leave’. This means fathers and mothers can divide the 52-week entitlement as they see fit. This change in social policy reflects how parents in the UK are moving away from the traditional view that the mother should be the primary care-giver of an infant.

Confidentiality and privacy The participants in this study were not afforded confidentiality. The report gives their first names and initial letter of their last name. Their case histories provide considerable detail of their lives.

Valid consent Where children are involved in research it is usually accepted that parents are asked to provide valid consent. However, it is more usual today for children to also be informed about the nature and purpose of any research. It appears from the article that data were collected as a routine part of treating patients at the clinic and that the decision to use the data was retrospective.

Learning objective

Success Criteria

  • Know and understand a classic piece of evidence: Bowlby (1944) (including methodology, procedures, findings and conclusions).

1) To identify the -:methodology, procedures, findings and conclusion from the summarised article in your work booklet.

2)To create a Bowlby classic evidence grid.

Challenge: Why was Kenneth described as having an affectionless character? (see article in booklet)

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