Maternal Deprivation

Abstract

The effects upon the child of separation from his mother (deprivation syndrome) have been critically reviewed. Effects of physical neglect or emotional rejection by the child's mother have not been included in this paper. The results of maternal deprivation in the physical, intellectual and emotional areas have been described. They have been shown to vary in type, intensity and reversibility depending upon the age at which separation occurs, duration of separation and pre- and post-separation experiences of the child. Preventive and therapeutic measures have been briefly discussed.

Maternal deprivation: Toward an empirical and conceptual re-evaluation.

“…Previous reviews have dealt primarily with the findings (Bowlby, 1951;Glaser & Eisenberg, 1956), or with the methodology of a few studies (Pinneau, 1950(Pinneau, , 1955. The chief effort of this review will be directed towards sorting out on an empirical level the varied antecedent conditions of maternal care described in the literature, and relating these empirical conditions to some major theoretical concepts.…”

The sins of the fathers: Urban decay and social pathology.

“…Might it not be an irreversible consequence of what had happened to these children be fore they came into care? It is widely agreed that emotional and intellectual neglect in early childhood (21), the syn drome known as maternal deprivation (22), can result in defects in intelligence (23,24) and personality (23,25). Many foster children have experienced dep rivation; many exhibit symptoms in terpretable as the sequelae of such an experience.…”

Parental and home influences on child behavior and development.

“…They found no evidence of "emotional shock" as a consequence of "minimum mothering." Since the studies by Spitz and by Dennis and Najarian dealt with gross situational variables (mother-infant separation and partial mother-substitution) the psychological variables are * For general reviews of the effects of maternal deprivation on child growth and behavior see Glaser and Eisenberg (29) and Roudinesco (102). Also see Mead (78) for a theoretical discussion of the general i ssues in mother-child separation.…”