What are the consequences of depriving babies and children of touch - hugs/rocking etc?

Question

I have been reading a lot about research which has gone on in this area in terms of the "monkey experiment" but I was wondering if there are any developments on that now?

Where can I go to find research to back up the evidence that deprivation of movement and touch in early childhood development can have negative effects later on in life?

Also does touch include tactile experiences such as having a range of textures to explore? Could texture and movement be used in place of human warmth and touch if it was the next best thing available - for example in an orphanage?

Thanks in advance

Answer 1

i think it is very important to give babies and children cuddles it lets them know they are safe,wanted and loved i give my little girl cuddles and kisses constantly....thats my personal opinion..and i feel very strongly about it....i just keep thinking imajine if my baby girl never knew what a cuddle was or touch ect....saddd :-(

the consequences would be...depression,anger,unhappy,ect

Answer 2

Hi. There are quite a few psychology books on sites like amazon which deal with the topic of early socialisation which covers Harlow's monkey experiment and nature/nurture. Even if you type in early socialisation into a search engine, it would help, alongside Harlow. Try libraries, many have books tailored for Alevel students studying the subject which contain info on seperation,deprivation and privation. The main consequenes of a child who is deprived of maternal comfort is to develop an insecure avoidant personality where the child lacks a strong attachment bond with their primary caregiver. Try Wikipedia too for other attachment theories such as Bowlby and Freud. Bowly believes attachment is formed by the baby for an instictual need to survive, whereas the psychoanalytic viewpoint proposed by Freud, says that children seek comfort through their libido drives.

Nothing can really compare with the comfort of human touch, and importantly love - although textures like cloth may help children in an orphanage, it does not give them the emotional security that they really need, as they are being deprived of a primary caregiver eg mum and may result in children displaying negative effects such as Bowly's Affection-less Psychopathy, (look that up to!) such as showing no care for others and no guilt for their actions etc.

As far as I know, there haven't been any developments on the monkey experiment, but one which I think is better is Mary Ainsworth's study of categorising children's behavoir when separated for a while from their caregiver. There are also some well known deprivation cases - one in particular which I like, and showed that they were able to move on in life http://as-psychology.pbwiki.com/Deprivat...

Hope this helps, and good luck!! :)

Remember it is not only touch, either human or cloth which can help children, it's most influential factor can be said to be how the mother interacts with the child on an emotional level and if placed in an orphanage, caregivers try to develop an emotional bond, as well as providing them with comfort, warmth and food as these things alone are not enough! however sadly, there has been alot or reports of orphans not recieving adequate care by them, resulting in low development rates, and affectionless-psychopathy.

Answer 3

Google attachment and John Bowlby

You will find what you are looking for

Answer 4

Dome docs say such deprivation early in life is a bummer.  Such kids grow up to be Jeffrey Dahmer-types.

Answer 5

Try researching "Transactional Analysis".  The attention you get pretty much drives your whole life not just when you are born but that is a pretty important time in the life of anyone.  The way you receive the attention you need in infancy can have an impression that can be transferred into adult life. Some people still use infantile activities to get what they need because that is the only way they got it when they were infants. This is probably one of my favorite topics and the more I learn the more I am able to put into real life practice the concepts of infantile upraising.  

Answer 6

I have been watching the series evolution recently.  I am trained in psychology - and know of the monkey and orphan studies - which you have received information on.  Now  think of it in a social/biological frame.  Was there a natural selection for primates who responded to touch and nurture as a way to solidify the social bonds?  so now, we have been so selected to bond in social connections, that if those connections are not there, we do not thrive or survive?