Parental Deprivation in Depressive Patients
- 1 May 1966
- journal article
- Published by Royal College of Psychiatrists in The British Journal of Psychiatry
- Vol. 112 (486), 443-457
- https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.112.486.443
Abstract
Since in most cultures it is normal practice for children to be reared by their parents, there is a general consensus of opinion that it is undesirable to be deprived of one's parents in childhood. This can scarcely be disputed, but to assert, as many authorities do, that a variety of severe psychological abnormalities may arise in the child as a result of such deprivation is to make an assumption of some magnitude. It requires an even greater assumption to postulate a causal connection between a long-past occurrence like childhood bereavement and a psychiatric illness which develops in adult life. It will be contended here that, with some exceptions, the evidence for such a connection is meagre. In particular, it will be shown that there is no apparent justification for regarding parental deprivation as an aetiological factor in depressive illness.Keywords
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