Describe and Discuss at Least 2 Long Term Consequences of Maternal Deprivation and Privation (12)

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Maternal deprivation is where a child has an attachment bond with a caregiver but it is then taken away or disrupted. For example, if a child’s mother went to prison for murder and received a life sentence. On the other hand, maternal privation is where the child has never had a chance to form a meaningful bond with a caregiver, possibly due to death like the Koluchova twins. The first main long term consequence of maternal deprivation is the fact that it promotes a negative internal working model with relationships and so those who have experienced maternal deprivation may have problems with forming relationships with others later in life as they may not trust people due to the fact that they were let down by their first main caregiver. Moreover, they don’t value themselves as having been let down and thus, do not develop a positive internal working model for how relationships work and function. In Bowlby’s ’44 Juvenile Thieves Study’ investigated whether problems later in life can be explained in terms of maternal deprivation. He collected data through interviews of 44 emotionally disturbed thieves and a control group of 44 emotionally disturbed teenagers (with no record of theft) and asked what their upbringing was like, particularly focusing on any separation from their mother during their first 5 years of age. He found that 39% of the focus group had been separated from their mothers for 6 months or more before the age of 5 and Bowlby claimed this would have disrupted the children’s ability to form attachment bonds and thus maternal deprivation can lead to problems with future relationships as the children struggle to trust people after being let down by their primary caregiver and are more independent and so possibly prefer to be alone. A practical application for Bowlby’s findings is that there should be no institutional care for children and if possible

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