Maternal Deprivation: Can its Ghost Be Laid?

Abstract

The hypothesis that separation from an established mother figure in early childhood has a detrimental effect on a child's later mental health has been widely promulgated and commonly accepted both in academic and lay circles throughout the Western world. The hypothesis continues to have a significant effect on mother's decisions as to whether they should resume work or not, and on governmental policy concerning the provision of child-care facilities for the children of those mothers who do.

The evidence for the hypothesis is reviewed and it is concluded that it does not satisfy the requirements of scientific methodology. The theory that a child's attachment to its mother figure is the emotional basis for its future love relationships, group affiliations and loyalty to the state, is now being accorded similar acceptance without further evidence than that supporting the original hypothesis.