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When you do something you shouldn't, you normally think of yourself as responsible. But, there are theories and research out there that suggest sometimes we do this because of how others have treated us; one of the most notable figures that are researched... is our relationships with our mothers. One study is the forty-four juvenile thieves investigated by Bowlby.
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Team Forty Four Juvenile Thieves Teachers
John Bowlby was a prominent psychologist whose theories on child development, such as maternal deprivation theory, greatly influenced views and practice on the care of children. He believed that delinquent behaviour could be attributed to separation or lack of emotional connection to the mother during critical childhood development stages.
Bowlby conducted a classic study investigating the effects of prolonged maternal separation on juvenile delinquency, known as the 44 Juvenile Thieves Study. To test the theory of maternal deprivation affecting children's emotional and social development, Bowlby investigated 44 juvenile thieves, comparing them to 44 control children (those at risk of emotional issues but had not committed crimes yet).
The concepts of the study were based on Bowlby's idea of monotropy and how an inadequate monotropic relationship could affect emotional and social development.
Monotropy is the innate need for a child to develop an attachment to one primary caregiver/attachment figure.
Figure 1: How a mother interacts with her child influences their child's later behaviour.
Bowlby's 44 thieves study aimed to investigate whether prolonged maternal separation led to juvenile delinquency in children. According to the author, this would aid the establishment of a cause-and-effect relationship.
Bowlby hypothesised that disruptive and poor-quality attachment styles between infants and their primary caregivers could result in later social, cognitive, emotional and behavioural problems.
An attachment is a reciprocating and long-lasting connection between two individuals.
Bowlby provided evidence of his theory in his 44 juvenile thieves study.
The participants were children who had been referred to the London Child Guidance Clinic. There were two groups; one group had been brought to the clinic for stealing (juvenile thieves group), and children in the control group had emotional disturbances but did not steal.
There were 44 children in each group, so 88 participants in total were recruited, and the age range for both groups was 5-16 years old.
The average intelligence for both groups was above that of the general population. Almost one-third of both groups had exceptionally high intelligence.
Upon arrival at the clinic, a child was given mental tests to assess their intelligence and how they emotionally approached the tests. A social worker took a preliminary psychiatric examination of the child. The psychiatrist received these results and interviewed the child and their mother to establish their history. The team then looked at all the information gathered, plus any school or other relevant reports.
Finally, a diagnosis was made for the child. In many cases, researchers conducted further interviews in which the child received psychotherapy, and the mother talked about her problems with a social worker. This provided more information, indicating the mother's emotional state. Bowlby then interviewed the child and the mother himself.
In the study, Bowlby assessed whether there was a link between the participant's character types determined by the quality of early attachments and later criminal problems (stealing) and emotional disturbances.
The juvenile thieves were divided into six character types. The table below presents the character types and the number of children diagnosed with each type.
| Character Type | Description | Number of children |
| Normal | Appear fairly normal and stable | 2 |
| Depressed | Children who had been unstable and were now depressed | 9 |
| Circular | These children were unstable and alternated between being depressed and over-activity | 2 |
| Hyperthymic | Children who were inclined to over-activity | 13 |
| Affectionless | Lack of normal affection, shame, or sense of responsibility | 14 |
| Schizoid | Pronounced schizoid or schizophrenic symptoms | 4 |
Let's take a closer look at the 'affectionless' character type, as this is crucial for the findings.
Bowlby (1944) distinguished the affectionless type by their lack of any warm feelings toward others. These children typically spent time alone, and a few socialised with other children, but they had no real emotional ties to them, no sense of friendship. These children changed acquaintances often.
Bowlby found that 12 of the affectionless children had prolonged separations (defined in this study as six months or longer) from their mothers or motherly figures before the age of 5. In total, 17 children in the juvenile thieves group experienced prolonged separations. In comparison, two children in the control group experienced this separation.
Betty I, aged 5.7:
Oldest of four children, the others being four and a half, three and a half, and two, she lived with her mother and stepfather. When she was seven months old, her mother, who was pregnant again, discovered her husband was married to someone else. They parted ways, and her mother got married again quickly. Betty lived in a series of foster homes from seven months old until she was five years old.
Bowlby found a correlation between affectionless character and stealing. He found children with this character type were likely to steal more often and in a more serious way than children with other character types.
The important point about prolonged separations is that these children had been separated from their mothers or motherly figures when attachments had already formed. In most cases, there were many replacements for the child's caregivers. Bowlby diagnosed those children with 'affectionless psychopathy.'
Figure 2: Bowlby concluded that the quality and presence of maternal bonds influence whether a child commits later crimes.
Prolonged maternal separation is a prominent factor in juvenile delinquency, as those showing affectionless psychopathy displayed emotional and social development issues. This can lead to juvenile delinquency later on in life.
Diagnosis and treatment are relevant, but prevention is of the utmost importance.
The ethics of the study can be questioned for several reasons. The participants were not kept confidential.
The study revealed the children's surnames' first names and first letters, making it easy for others to identify them. In addition to this, they all had case studies published about them.
To maintain confidentiality, Bowlby should have used pseudonyms, just their initials or participant numbers, which would have kept their identity hidden.
The children participating in the study may not have been able to give valid consent. Today, research guidelines suggest informing children thoroughly about the nature of any research about them and gaining consent from attending caregivers with appropriate considerations.
This study was conducted in 1944 when ethical guidelines weren't as rigid, and children may not have been informed what the research would be used for and the implications involved.
Let's take a look at the strengths and weaknesses of the study.
This case study provided detailed qualitative information. This allows us to understand what led to the findings of affectionless character types leading to juvenile delinquency and the findings regarding prolonged separation.
The study highlighted the importance of the maternal bond during the first five years, which has led to changes and developments in childcare practice, such as changing hospital visiting hours to allow children to spend more time with their parents. Some governments offer greater support for new mums and dads.
For example, in Sweden, parents are allowed to take 480 days of paid parental leave after the birth or adoption of a child. Each parent is allowed to take up to 240 days off as they see fit.
The case studies presented were based on the parents' recollections. Memories, i.e. retrospective data, may not be accurate, affecting the study's internal validity.
In addition, both groups (the juvenile thieves group and the control group) had emotional disturbances; this means the results cannot be generalised to all children, i.e. those without emotional disturbances. Also, not all juvenile delinquents have emotional issues, so the research may reinforce stigmas that aren't necessarily valid.
A cause-and-effect relationship cannot be established as this was not an experimental study. There may have been other factors that led to juvenile delinquency; this is a weakness of non-experimental research.
The findings may be subject to bias, as Bowlby himself conducted the psychiatric assessments and made the diagnoses. If Bowlby had another researcher conducting assessments to assess inter-rater reliability, the findings would be more reliable.
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What type of study was Bowlby's 44 thieves?
Bowlby's 44 thieves study was non-experimental research conducted in a controlled setting (London Child Guidance Clinic), where they collected interview and observation data.
What are the aims of the forty-four juvenile thieves?
Bowlby's 44 thieves study aimed to investigate whether prolonged maternal separation led to juvenile delinquency in children.
What is the forty-four juvenile thieves study all about?
The forty-four juvenile thieves aimed to test how maternal deprivation affects children's emotional and social development.
What did Bowlby find in forty-four juvenile thieves?
Bowlby found in the forty-four juvenile thieves study that prolonged maternal separation is a prominent factor in juvenile delinquency. Children separated from their mothers for an extended period displayed emotional and social development issues and juvenile delinquency.
Who are the characters in the forty-four juvenile thieves study?
The participants were all children referred to the London Child Guidance Clinic. There were two groups of children; a juvenile thieves group and a control group with emotional disturbances but did not steal. The children were between 5-16.
What is the Bowlby 44 thieves study?
The Bowlby 44 thieves study compared and investigated 44 thieves and 44 non-thieves using interviews and questionnaires. It was found that 17 of 44 thieves had experienced prolonged early separation from their mothers before age five.
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