Some of the children remained at the institution while others had left and had to be either adopted or restored to their original families. Restored children were less likely to form attachments but adopted children were attached like normal children. However, both groups of ex institutionalised children had problems with peers. These findings suggest that early privation had a negative effect on the ability to form relationships even when given good emotional care. This supports Bowlby's theory of sensitive period.
There are many hypotheses about the factors that contributed to the increase of juvenile delinquency after World War II. Though foster care was a system set to provide for the welfare of minor children or juveniles who had to be removed by the state from their birth parents; this system seems to be contributing to the problem of delinquency. Statistics do show a decrease in juvenile delinquency in the past years but the lack of parental guidance associated with foster care can contributed to the rise of delinquency. One reason that foster care has contributed to juvenile delinquency is because of the association with parental rejection and parental guidance. This happens because many times the children are placed with foster parents that have other kids of their own and do not see the foster care child as part of their family.
The explanation suggests that the primary caregiver is responsible for helping the infant overcome its anxieties and if the care is inadequate then a child will not develop a proper sense of self. Therefore during adolescence when threats to the self occur the symptoms of schizophrenia begin to develop. However, the psychodynamic explanation to schizophrenia has many problems, for example: Freud claimed that schizophrenia is caused by over-whelming anxiety and is a defence mechanism involving regression into an early stage of development. Freud suggested that one of the positive symptoms of the disorder, hallucinations are the ego’s attempt to restore contact with reality. However there isn’t any research evidence to support Freud’s theory and psychoanalysis is not an effective treatment for schizophrenia suggesting that the psychodynamic theory does not explain the causes of schizophrenia.
(Bowlby, 1969) Fonagy et al. (1993) sought to empirically test the validity of Bowlby's idea of internal working models. The results they produced supported the concept of internal working models, demonstrating that mothers who had mental representations of insecure attachments with their own parents tended to be less securely attached to their own children. In accordance with the internal working model hypothesis, Bowlby believed that secure and long term relationships with a caregiver was essential to the infants later development. Therefore, any disruption to the attachment bond before the child reaches two years of age will have negative consequences for the future.
The body starts going through hormonal changes and can bring about changes in personality and behavior. The child is in need of many things from those they depend on the most; their parents. In the world today, many children are being raised with the absence of one parent due to divorce, death, or abandonment. What kind of a negative impact will this absence have on the adolescent? What psychological impact will the absence of a mother have on her daughter?
This stresses the importance of attachment, and therefore the negative impact long term deprivation has on children. Richards (1987) theorised that the experience of divorce seems to affect children more than a parent’s death. This may be due to several factors such as little or no contact if one parent leaves the home; stress of family reordering; or the child may blame themselves for the divorce. However, this was a case study which cannot be generalised as the children’s situations are unique, and therefore different to others. Moreover, death could seem to have a less affect on children depending on their upbringing and nature of the situation.
16-year-old Precious was not given love and affection by her parents. Instead, she faced relentless child abuse, rape, and domestic violence, and incest, physical and mental abuse from both her mother and father. According to Horney when one lives in a world that is out to abuse, cheat attack, humiliate or betray you, you feel “small, insignificant, helpless, deserted and endangered” (1937, p. 92). She believed that these feeling are a cause of basic anxiety and children try to protect themselves against these feelings in four ways: Securing affection and
Another issue is that the child would have to learn to interact with multiple staff members. Some children will embrace the relationship with the caregivers and begin to build a bond with them rather than the mother. Some of the studies conducted reveal an absence of sympathy and empathy during the care of the children. Researchers feel that these children are placed in an environment that inhibits their growth. I find this information to be quite interesting.
Parental mental illness can have a negative effect on the parent / child relationship and child development, especially where there is little external support. Children with parents who had mental illness had a higher likelihood of child neglect and this was a considerable risk factor in their safety and welfare. There are difficulties when multiple agencies are involved with a family and problems with communication and information sharing is a challenge. Contents Introduction page 3 Study design page 4 Critical discussion page 5 Conclusion page 12
Separation Distress is when the child is separated from the caregiver; they will become distressed and upset. Attachment is very important in the early stages. Failure to form secure attachments early in life can have a negative impact on behavior in later childhood and throughout life. Bonding, on the other hand, occurs between a parent and child without knowledge, intent or conscious effort. Bonding is the period where an emotional tie between parent and infant is present.