Childhood temporary separation: long-term effects of the British evacuation of children during World War 2 on older adults' attachment styles

Abstract

This study investigates long-term effects on adult attachment due to temporary childhood separation as a result of the British evacuation of children during World War 2. A total of 859 respondents, aged 62-72 years, were recruited who had childhood homes in the county of Kent during the war. Of these, 770 had been evacuated and 89 remained at home and formed a non-evacuated control group. They participated in this retrospective survey of possible associations between childhood experiences of the evacuation, early upbringing, and later life-course variables, with adult attachment style assessed by the Relationship Questionnaire (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991). Reflecting the wartime concerns of Bowlby, male and female respondents evacuated between the ages of 4 and 6 years showed low incidences in secure attachment style of 38% and 27%, compared to those not evacuated at 64% and 44%, respectively, with a corresponding increase in the fearful category. The quality of care received during evacuation and the frequency of parental visits were also found to be significantly associated with attachment style for female respondents. Irrespective of experience of evacuation, both male and female respondents who reported poor home nurture showed a similar low incidence of secure attachment of 23% compared to those from homes with good quality care of 45% and 43%, respectively, with concomitant increases in proportions in the dismissing category for males and the fearful category for females. The clinical implications of the study are briefly discussed.

Long-term effects of the British evacuation of children during World War 2 on their adult mental health

“…These respondents would have developed a working model of attachment based on their experiences of separation that has influenced their style of attachment and dependency through life. This is supported by the results of the attachment study by Rusby and Tasker (2008), using the same respondent sample, which found that 25% of those evacuated in early childhood, aged 4-6 years, were in the fearful attachment style category, as defined by the Relationship Questionnaire of Bartholomew and Horowitz (1991). A comparison of these results with those of the current study has shown that the fearful attachment style was significantly correlated with the incidence of depression (r ¼ 0.43).…”

“…Those evacuated in adolescence had significantly lower lifetime incidences of both depression and clinical anxiety than those evacuated at a young age; and those who received good foster care during evacuation were at a reduced risk of such affective disorders in adulthood. These quantitative results relating to lifespan, mental health have supported the conclusions from the earlier qualitative work where participants perceived the effect of their individual experience in developmental terms, ranging from providing confidence and 'widened horizons' at the positive end through to leaving an 'emotional legacy' at the negative end (Rusby, 2005).…”

“…It is possible that this anomalous rise in both of these variables is related to the onset of puberty and the menarche. This echoes findings from the earlier qualitative study in which women who had been evacuated in early adolescence and who had experienced a lack of loving care and practical understanding at this time linked this to later episodes of anxiety (Rusby, 2005). Erikson (1968), Marcia, (1980 and Paikoff and Brooks-Gunn (1991) all emphasise the importance of a close and effective parent-child relationship in early adolescence through the changes associated with the menarche as a precursor for the later achievement of a mature female identity.…”

“…However, the outcome for older children in this survey, particularly those in the 13 to 15 years age range, was noticeably more positive. Many have expressed how much they gained from the experience in terms of their development (Rusby, 2005). Bowlby might not have foreseen this, but their perceptions are confirmed by the low level of self-criticism found, and the reduced incidences of depression and clinical anxiety experienced.…”

“…It suggests that the longterm effects of evacuation for the mental health of respondents are likely to be dependent not only on the details of the evacuation experience, such as age, frequency of parental contact and the length of the period away, but also on the quality of home upbringing before and after the separation and the care received during the evacuation period. The importance of variation in these details of the evacuation experience has been highlighted also by qualitative findings from a study of 16 older adults, using grounded theory, who had been evacuated during the war and is included in Rusby (2005). The breadth in participants' perceptions of the long-term effects of the experience on their development and outlook was wide depending on these details, ranging from comments such as 'it made me' at one extreme to 'it ruined my life' at the other.…”