Final answer:
The stage not included in Bowlby's stages of childhood attachment disorder is E. Acceptance. Bowlby's theory outlines three stages: Protest, Despair, and Detachment, while Acceptance is a stage associated with the Kübler-Ross model of grief.
Step-by-step explanation:
The stage not included in Bowlby's stages of childhood attachment disorder, after a lengthy departure of the child's mother, is E. Acceptance.
John Bowlby, a British psychologist, described the emotional bond between a child and their caregiver and how disruption of this bond can lead to attachment disorders. Bowlby identified three stages of response that children exhibit when separated from their mothers: A. Protest, B. Despair, and C. Detachment.
During the first stage, Protest, children cry and search for their mothers. In the Despair stage, children exhibit less active distress but still seem unhappy and withdrawn. Finally, in the Detachment stage, children may appear to have adjusted to the separation, but on an emotional level, they have distanced themselves as a defense mechanism against the pain of separation.
The notion of D. Denial of affection may be observed in some cases as part of a broader reaction to separation, but it is not one of the formal stages defined by Bowlby. Conversely, E. Acceptance is often associated with the Kübler-Ross model of grief, as a stage where an individual comes to terms with loss or impending death, which is entirely separate from Bowlby's attachment theory.