Leo is 6 years old. His primary school teachers have noticed that he struggles to form friendships, showing little interest in his peers and often demonstrating a lack of empathy or remorse when he upsets them. He also becomes extremely distressed and clings to his mother when dropped off at school, finding it very difficult to cope with separations.
During his infancy, Leo lived with his mother until he was 15 months old, at which point she was hospitalized for 5 months due to an illness. During this period, Leo was cared for by a succession of temporary foster carers. Since returning to his mother's care, he has spent 50 hours a week in a local day nursery where there has been a high turnover of staff.
Discuss how Leo's early care experiences may have affected his development and current behaviour. You must make reference to Bowlby's work on attachment in your answer.
84 exam-style questions on Edexcel A Level Psychology Content, covering Bowlby's work on attachment, Ainsworth and the Strange Situation, Research into deprivation, Research into privation, Research into day care, Cross-cultural research into attachment, Autism, Individual differences, and Developmental psychology. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.