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- Participants - case studies. Control group study not experiment. Final analysis - association between 2 groups of participants and experiences of sepaeation.
- Focus of the study - thieves - 44 children who attended child guidance clinic in London. Stealing was one of their 'symptoms'. Few charged in court - many too young to be charged. 31 boys, 13 girls 5-17. Graded in terms of seriousness of stealing. Grade 4 - 22 children - long term stealing, some for more than 3 years. Grade 1 thieves - 1 theft, 4 children. Average intelligence, 50% IQ score 85-114 (100 mean score for IQ). 15 - higher IQs, 2 - below 85.
- Control group - 44 children attending clinic, similar in age, sex and IQ to thieves. Emotionally disturbed but did not steal. 88 children involved in study, all referred to child guidance clinic for emotional problems.
- Mothers - mothers of thieves and control group participants involved in study. Interviewed to assess case histories of children.
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- Initial examination - sample obtained - opportunity sampling. Arrival at clinic each child given mental tests by psychologist to assess intelligence - Binet scale. Psychologists also noted emotional attitude of child.
- Social worker interviewed mothers, recorded prelim details of child's early psychiatric history. Psychologist and social worker both reported to psychiatrist (Bowlby).
- Psychiatrist interviewed child and mother. 2 hour exam, team considered school and other reports, discussed conclusions.
- Therapy - many children met with psychiatrist weekly - 6 months or more. Mothers talked problems over with social worker. Meetings and discussions enabled detailed case history to be recorded, enabled psychiatrist to diagnose emotional problems.
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- Diagnosis - to determine previous experiences causing thieves to steal, distinguished personality types. Bowlby recognised difficult to do as children whole personalities not formed yet.
- 6 personality types. Normal.
- Depressed - unstable, depressed state of mind.
- Circular - unstable, varying depression to over-activity.
- Hyperthymic - constantly over-active.
- Affectionless - lack of normal affection, shame or sense of responsibility.
- Schizoid - marked schizoid or symptoms.
- Affectionless - clear pattern - 14 classified as affectionless, 12/14 frequent separations from mothers.
- Betty I. foster home at 7 months, parents split, moved from 1 foster home to another, spent year in convent school before returning home aged 5.
- Derek B. 18 months hospitalised diptheria, 9 month stay, not visited by parents.
- Kenneth W. 3-9 primarily cared for by grandfather, no control.
- Separations very rare amongst other thieves. 30 non-affectionless, 3 experienced separations.
- Control group - 2 prolonged separations.
- 17 thieves experienced early separation. remaining 27 Bowlby reported 17 had mothers who were extremely anxious, irritable, or fussy, or rigid, domineering, oppressive, unconscious hostility.
- 5/27 fathers openly expressed hatred. Also reported in control. Separation may explain emotional problems but not delinquency.
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- Children would not have become offenders if experiences not harmful to healthy development.
- Bowlby subscirbed to psychoanalytic view - early experiences vitally important in later development. Importance in relationship between mother and child and importance in emotional development. Proposed damage to relationship would affect development of supoerego, reduced sense of right and wrong.
- Juvenile delinquency - consequence of many complex factors, poverty, bad housing, lack of recreational activities. Emphasis on psychoanalytic factors in this study.
- Implications for treatment - if findings correct, implication - treatment offered to delinquents, extremely slow and difficult process. Earlier a diagnosis is made, better treatment is.
- Prevention approach - prolonged separation of a mother and child may be unavoidable e.g. death or ill health or social circumstances.
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