MATERNAL DEPRIVATION’ CONCEPT IN JOHN BOWLBY'S THEORY: IMPACTS ON EARLY CHILD EDUCATION AND CARE

Abstract

This work aimed to build an overview about the emergence of John Bowlby's Attachment Theory, particularly regarding the notion of separation of the young child from the mother figure and the deleterious effects of the former on socio-emotional development in early development. In this perspective, the text sought to elucidate the historical context of the emergence of this concept, as well as its repercussions for the fields that deal with studies on childhood, especially Early Childhood Education and Care. To this end, this text was conceived in three parts. Firstly, the history of the “discovery of childhood” and the consequent centering of the family on the child and the “governments of childhood” placed in the charge of the mother will be addressed. In a second moment, we will move towards Bowlby's writings, particularly from the reading of the first two volumes of the "Attachment and Loss" trilogy and the report prepared by him for the World Health Organization (WHO), in 1951. Following this, in a third part, one will deal with the proportion that this theory took: its diffusion in terms of public policies in different cultures and the almost dogmatic character - with serious implications - of its precepts that were taken over in areas such as Child Psychiatry, Developmental Psychology and Pedagogy.