Infant Isolation Running head: Infant Care and Isolation

Infant Care and Isolation By April M. Tupper NTC Student, Medford

Infant Isolation Abstract

Everyone knows that infants require constant care of their physical needs and it is presumed that most adults also are aware of the basic emotional needs as well. However, to what extent do these physical and psychological needs attribute to the life of infants as they develop and grow? What happens if these needs are not consistently met or are adequate? This paper attempts to answer these questions as well as look into the factors, research, study, and effects that surround the subject of infant isolation.

Infant Isolation Infant Care and Isolation The study of the effects of isolation and lack of adequate care incurred by infants has been a question that many psychologists, sociologists, scientists, and medical professionals have pondered for decades. Though, as humans, we know of the basic physical and possibly psychological needs of infants there has been great debate as to the extent of what is needed and

the effects of lacking in these area. Most researchers agree that if either of these areas are indeed lacking, the effects can be devastating and long standing, even permanent. This paper takes an in-depth look at the research and study of infant isolation and attempted to answer the following: 1. What factors may contribute to the isolation of an infant? 2. What sort of research studies have been conducted in relation to infant isolation and care? 3. What are the effects on infants who have experienced isolation and inadequate care? This review of the study of infants, isolation, and inadequate care focuses on these three questions. What Factors May Contribute to the Isolation and Inadequate Care of Infants? There are a wide range of reasons an infant may receive inadequate care as are there with reasons as to why an infant may experience isolation. Isolation The factors that may subject the infant into a situation of isolation may be for a number of reasons. First, there are situations in which it may be medically necessary to isolate an infant either immediately following birth or shortly there after. This includes the premature delivery of an infant in which the infant may need to be incubated in an NICU. These babies, depending on

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the gestational period and health factors, may spend a great deal of time inside the incubator and may have limited physical contact with both the mother and medical staff. In close relationship to this factor is the onset of illness and/or disease that an infant may develop. This may happen to both full-term and pre-term infants in which they may need to be placed in an isolated environment. Second, an infant may experience isolation for no other reason other than a lack of parental care. Though sad to think of, there are many incidents of infants being left to cry. This has also become a common practice of parents in the U.S. in which parents feel that they may spoil their infant if they run to it for their every cry. In an interesting article, Commons and Miller (1998) contend that parents should keep babies close, console them when they cry, and even bring them to bed with them where theyll feel safe. According to physicians Prescott, Mason, and Berkson (1960) the worst type of maternal care is none at all. Such would be the case as with feral children which have been a mystery for centuries. The first know case of which was the story of a baby boy found feeding from a mother goat around 250A.D. during the Gothic wars. This and other stories such as that of the legend of Romulus and Remus in ancient mythology of feral children living with animals in the wild, or with nearly no human socialization, are much more common and true than once thought (web article). A third reason could be the cultural environment in which the infant is born in to. The practice of child rearing varies widely from culture to culture. It is an interesting notes though that most cultures consider parents in the United States less caring. This is largely due to the way in which the infant is allowed to cry, is held less, and is often put in a separate bed and often an entirely different room. Many cultures differ in this respect, Powell (1998).

Infant Isolation Inadequate Care

In an article, Thurber (1990) was convinced that depending on how reliably and lovingly a caregiver behaves to an infants cries determines how securely attached they become. The infant and young child should experience a warm, intimate and continuous relationship with its mother in who both find satisfaction and enjoyment, Bowlby (1979). It is all too often that infants are raised in homes where there is little interaction besides enough care to just survive. Environments like institutions and orphanages have not been left out of criticism of the quality of care. Though most, at least within the United States, are of excellent quality, some especially in other countries still lack in the quality of care both physically and psychologically. One Romanian orphanage environment was described by Carlson (1989) during her studies on social depravation as shocking. Many of the infants spent the majority of their time in covered cribs and had only necessary interactions so as to keep them alive (Spritz, 1945). There are tragic cases of children isolated by abusive family members which show the damage caused by depriving human beings of social experience, especially in early childhood. Some of the most know cases of isolated children are the stories of Anna who was discovered in the home of her mentally impaired mother and kept in a storage closet because of the threat from the grandfather Macionis (2007). Other stories include that of Isabelle and Genie, both of whom experienced extreme isolation. What Sort of Research Studies Have Been Conducted In Relation to Infant Isolation and Care? Research studies done in regards to this area have been plentiful however there are limitations in research due to the ethical standards of research on humans, especially infants. To

Infant Isolation simulate research in relation to infants many researchers have used animals in their studies. Others have studied various groups of infants in and out of certain environments and situations. Human Infant Research Research interest in the developmental consequences of extreme deprivation in infancy began in the early 1940s and 1950s with the work of researchers such as Rene Spitz (1945a; 1945b), William Goldfarb (1945; 1955), and John Bowlby (1953). Researchers became interested in this topic as a result of the high infant mortality rate in institutions from no known physical cause (Spitz 1945a; 1945b). Rene Spitz coined the term hospitalism to describe the physical and psychological characteristics of infants housed in institutions. He described conditions in the institution as dire. For example, children spent most of their days in cubicles with drab walls wherein sheets often hung over the sides of the infants' cribs, obstructing their view. William Goldfarb (1955) studied fifteen children who had been reared in institutions for

the first three years of their lives and were subsequently placed in foster care. He compared these children to a group of children who had been in foster care since early infancy. Critics reported that much of this early literature provided scant details regarding not only conditions in orphanages but also the assessments used to evaluate children and the number of children who were tested, the ages at which they were. . In many parts of the world researchers conducted intervention studies which attempted to ascertain the kinds of interventions that might prevent poor outcomes (Broussard and DeCarie 1971; Dennis 1960; Hunt et al. 1976; see Rosenblith and Sims-Knight 1985 for a review; Skodak and Steels 1945, 1949). Such interventions included placing infants as houseguests with older children (Skodak and Steels 1945, 1949), improving child-to-caregiver ratios (Hunt et al. 1976), and early-adoption (Dennis 1973). Also was the work of Barbara Tizard and her colleagues with children who had spent the first two years of their

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lives in high-quality institutions in the United Kingdom (Tizard 1977). In these institutions childto-caregivers ratios were 3:1 and the children experienced adequate social interaction, were taken on outings, and fed well. The caregivers, however, were discouraged from forming intimate relationships with the children. This was the major way in which orphanage children's lives differed from the lives of home-reared children. Tizard first assessed these children at two years of age and compared them to a sample of home-reared children from a working-class background. There was other research studied done like that of De Chateau and Winberg (1972) on the mother infant relationship during hospital stays following the birth of their babies which were to explain the importance of creating the initial attachment. Related Research Using Animals There have been several important studies performed using animals, particularly infant animals, in order to better understand human infants in respects to effects of isolation and care. One of the most known studies was the experiment with monkeys done right here in Wisconsin Harlow and Carlson (1962). Harry Harlow was a psychologist best known for his maternalseparation and social isolation experiments on rhesus monkeys, which demonstrated the importance of tangible affection in social and cognitive development. He conducted most of his research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Though very controversial Harlow conducted series of experiments between 1957 and 1963, Harlow removed baby rhesus monkeys from their mothers, and offered them a choice between two surrogate mothers, one made of terrycloth, the other of wire. The experiment involved two groups of baby rhesus monkeys that were removed from their mothers. In the first group, a terrycloth mother provided no food, while a wire mother did, in the form of an attached baby bottle containing milk. In the second group, a terrycloth mother provided food; the wire mother did not. Harlow then placed the infant rhesus in cages

Infant Isolation with the mothers. A third category of infant monkeys was also used. These experiments were largely motivated by John Bowlby's World Health Organization-sponsored study and report, "Maternal Care and Mental Health" in 1950, in which Bowlby reviewed previous studies on the effects of institutionalization on child development such as Ren Spitz's (1949) and his own surveys on children raised in a variety of settings. Ultimately, Harlows experiments were to show the effects of isolation and maternal depravation. Harlow first reported the results of these

experiments in "The nature of love," the title of his address to the sixty-sixth Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association, Washington, D.C., August 31, 1958. His research also provided much insight into the behaviors of abused children and has improved methods of providing care to institutionalized children. While many of his experiments would be considered unethical today, their nature and Harlow's descriptions of them heightened awareness of the treatment of laboratory animals and thus paradoxically contributed somewhat to today's ethics regulations. What Are the Effects on Infants Whove Experienced Isolation and of Inadequate Care? Through the vast research and studies conducted there is one thing that all of them have in common. This is the belief that early isolation, separation, and depravation cause many psychological as well as physical problems that are all too often irreversible in some respects. Many researchers attribute this to the attachment theory in which the lack of a secure relationship with their caregivers does indeed delay normal social and emotional development. The parental responses lead to the development of patterns of attachment which in turn lead to guide the individuals feelings, thoughts, and expectations in later relationships Bowlby (1970). Separation anxiety or grief following serious loss is normal although an extreme deficit in parenting can

Infant Isolation

lead to a lack of attachment behaviors in a child and may result in the disorder known as reactive attachment disorder. In the book Malignant Self Love (part E) it is thought that for very young child, self esteem is probably best thought to consist of deep feelings of being loved, accepted, and valued by significant others rather than from feeling of oneself. The unconditional love and acceptance experienced in the first year or so of life lays the foundation for later self esteem and make it possible for the child to withstand occasional criticism as it grows older Cassidy (1988). It is also suggested that if infants are valued and given comfort when required, they come to feel valuable, conversely, if they are neglected or rejected, they come to feel worthless and of little value Cassidy (1988). The ability to tolerate separation and aloneness in infancy is a vital aspect of a healthy functioning child. A variety of theoretical frameworks agree that this ability is anchored in a history of confidence that someone will be there when needed. (Bowlby, 1969, 1973; Freud and Burlingham, 1943; Mahler et al., 1975) From the studies of Spritz (1949) and Provence (1962) we know that developmental stagnation is evident in infants who have been institutionalized. The infants he studied were withdrawn and depressed and did not respond to face or voice, nor would they cuddle. These infants were frequently seen huddled in fetal positions and their psychobiological functioning was slow. Some of the infants would stop eating and displayed a failure to thrive as well as slowed growth patterns. The infants were also difficult to console when stressed and appeared confused, Spritz (1949). This example illustrates the premise that it is not the dependency of caretaking nature which defines the relationship and facilitates emotional and physical growth in infants. Infant who are fed, clothed, and changed do not necessarily thrive. There are disruptions in development where consistent maternal care is present, but accompanied by a lack of emotional responding within the relationship.

Infant Isolation The studies of Commons and Miller (1998) in which they examined childrearing practices concluded that incidents of post-traumatic stress and panic disorders may become present when babies cries are not responded to and furthermore that this may continue into

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adulthood. Early stress resulting from separation causes changes in the infants brains that make future adults more susceptible to stress in their lives. Letting babies cry unnecessarily harms the baby permanently and changes the nervous system so theyre overly sensitive to future trauma Commons (1998). Tizard (1977) studies of institutionalized infants had findings of lower IQ scores, language delays and underdeveloped social development. When Goldfarb (1955) studied infants who were institutionalized and then placed in foster care he found that children were delayed intellectually into adolescence and had great behavioral problems. Most of the children developed slower and were irreversibly emotionally removed. Later researchers such as Howard Davis and Corbis (1970) also found that isolated infants developed at a slower rate and had lower IQ scores. Animal studies done by Harlow and Carlson (1962) had devastating results. The monkeys who grew up in isolation ended up with severe emotional and behavioral problems, including autistic-like behavior. This study was further explored by Carlson (1962) in which she mapped out the nerve connections between the hand and brain. She found that the brain hormone cortisole and serotonin levels show how important touch is. In both infant and animal studies it was discovered that cortisol and serotonin levels were significantly lower when isolation is experienced. Prescott (1960) showed that the effects of isolation impaired the brains limbic system and cerebellum. He concluded that isolation, not just inheritance, set the stage for emotional illness.

Infant Isolation Feral children, like those mentioned earlier, such as Genie, Romulus and Rhemus, and the 250 A.D. boy found with the goats, have all exhibited severe mental and physical delays. Language was impaired and most often non existent. These children also exhibited animal like

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behavior. The effect on the children in these cases was irreversible. The stories of Anna, Isabelle, and Genie, who were found completely isolated and abused also, had irreversible effects. When found in storage closet Anna could not walk or talk and her size was that of a 5-7 year old though actually the age of 10 years. Her mental development was that of a toddler. Anna died as a result of a blood disorder at age 10, thought to be a result of the severe depravation and isolation she experienced. Isabelle, who was found in similar circumstances as Anna, had spent the first six years of her life in isolation. She lacked responsiveness, was underdeveloped physically and mentally and could not speak. Though she was given the benefit of intensive learning programs after her discovery, she was unable to master much of the language, 2000 words, and social skills needed to be normal, nonetheless, at age 14 she was able to attend school as a sixth grader. Genie, who was found living with dogs, eventually did improve to a limited extent but was unable to live outside of constant care and supervision. Today she lives in a developmentally disabled adult care facility Macionis (2007). Conclusion The effects of isolation and inadequate care are many and as research continues it is evident that it will prove to have more associations will problems into adulthood. What one can learn from all this is that it is vital for parents and caregivers to cast aside their thoughts of spoiling an infant with too much attention and love as the benefits far out way the negatives.

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M. "Preface" Deprivation of Maternal Care: A Reassessment of its Effects, Public Health

Papers. Geneva: World Health Organization (1969) 2nd ed. pp. 30405, pp. 309
(1969) pp. 365, (1969) p. 300, pp. 41421(1958) "The nature of the child's tie to his mother" International Journal of Psychoanalyst Bowlby J (1973) Separation: Anger and Anxiety Attachment and loss, Vol. II. London: Hogarth. ISBN 0712666214 lyses 39 (5): 35073. PMID 13610508 Cassidy J (1999) "The Nature of a Childs Ties" Cassidy J, Shaver PR. Handbook of Attachment: Theory, Research and Clinical Applications. New York: Guilford Press. pp. 320. ISBN 1-57230-087-6 Cassidy J (1998). "Commentary on Steele and Steele: Attachment and object relations theories and the concept of independent behavioral systems". Social Development 7 (1): 12026. doi:10.1111/1467-9507.00054, Frontiers of Infant Psychiatry (1983), Vol. 2, New York Commons M. L. and Miller P. Emotional Learning in Infants: A Cross Cultural Examination, n.d. Harlow H (1958) "The Nature of Love" American Psychologist, 13: 573685 doi: 10.1037/h0047884, Development of affection in primates. Pp. 157-166 in: Roots of Behavior (E.L. Bliss, Ed.). New York: Harper. (1962), early social deprivation and later behavior in the monkey Pp. 154-173 in: Unfinished tasks in the behavioral sciences (A. Abrams, H.H. Gurner & J.E.P. Tomal, Eds.) Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins. 1964 Macionis J.J., (2007) Sociology 12th Edition, pp.118 Mahler MS (1971) "A study of the separation-individuation process and its possible application to borderline phenomena in the psychoanalytic situation" Psychoanalytic Study of the Child 26: 403 24. PMID 5163236 Powell A. (1998) Children Need Touching and Attention, www. News.Har vard.edu

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Prescott J. ( n.d.) S-Sad Syndrome

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Spitz, R. A., & Wolf, K. M. Analytic depression: an inquiry into the genesis of psychiatric conditions in early childhood. II. Psychoanalytic Study of the Child, (2), 313-342. (1946) Development of affection in primates Pp. 157-166 in: Roots of Behavior (E.L. Bliss, Ed.). New York: Harper. 1962. Wincott, D.W. (1939) Letter Evacuation of Small Children, British Medical Journal (16, Dec.): 1202-3