Bowlby (1944) Forty-four juvenile thieves: their characters and home-life.

Bowlby (1944) Forty-four juvenile thieves: their characters and home-life.Example exam questions: Describe the methodology and procedures [of the study] (10 marks) Describe the findings + conclusions [of the study] (10 marks) Evaluate the methodology [of the study] (10 marks)

Methodology Case Study with control group Looking at child thieves and separation Clinic in London - everyone there had been referred for emotional problems 44 Children thieves, 31 Boys, 13 Girls 5 - 17 years old Graded in terms of seriousness; Grade IV (22) Long time stealing, Grade I (4) only one theft Mostly average intelligence 44 Controls, similar in age, sex and IQ Emotionally disturbed but didn't steal Mothers of all children interviewed also to assess the case histories

Procedures Opportunity sample IQ & Emotional attitude noted Mothers interviewed by social worker Psychologist & Social worker reported to Bowlby Bowlby interviews child and mother Weekly meetings over 6 months, problems diagnosed

FindingsCame up with six main personality types: Normal Depressed Circular (alternating depression & overactivity) Hyperthymic (over-activity) Affectionless Schizoid (children who showed schizophrenic symptoms) Of the 44 thieves, 14 were classified as affectionless Of the 14 classified, 12 had experienced frequent separations from their mothers Example = Derek B. At age 18 months was hospitalised. He stayed there for nine months and, during that time, was not visited by his parents. Separations were very rare among the other classifications (There were 30 non-affectionless thieves, only three of whom had experienced separations.) Of 44 controls only 2 had prolonged separations Also worth noting of the remaining 27 thieves 17 had mothers who were anxious, irritable, rigid (etc.) 5 had fathers who hated them openly - May explain the emotional problems but NOT delinquency as controls reported the above too.

Conclusions Early childhood experiences are of vital importance in later development Children would not have become offenders f they had not had these bad experiences Damage to the mother-child relationship affects the development of the superego - leading to a reduced sense of right and wrong Treatment should be offered to delinquents, however the process is slow Prevention rather than treatment "However if all of those people who advise on the upbringing of small children, not least among them doctors, were aware of the appalling damage which separations of this kind have on the development of a child’s character, many could be avoided and many of the most distressing cases of chronic delinquency prevented."