Parental Loss in Childhood Its Effect in Adult Life

Abstract


While parental loss in childhood has intrigued psychiatrists for most of this century, it has only recently been the subject of acceptable empiric research. Early psychoanalytic writers were preoccupied with the psychological significance of the traumatic loss itself and noted that depression specifically was the likely outcome. Bowlby,1 however, suggested that a range of disorders, including depression, anxiety, and antisocial personality, may be associated with childhood loss; there are now many empiric studies that seem to support this. Bowlby2 further defined what he believed to be the toxic element of childhood loss, moving the emphasis toward the disruption of the ongoing attachment to the parent. Later Rutter3,4 concluded that separation from a parent and subsequent loss of attachment in itself is not the critical factor. It is increasingly apparent that parental separation or loss in childhood can embrace a range of other adverse experiences.



Christopher Tennant | source: Arch Gen Psychiatry 635 |
Categories: Psychology Health


Other articles

Caregiver-specific factors and orphanage-context factors contributing to maltreatment of children in institutional care: A multi-level analysis of 24 orphanages in Tanzania

Background: High rates of maltreatment and low caregiving quality in institutional care settings have been identified in…

Read more

What are the factors associated with depressive symptoms among orphans and vulnerable children in Cambodia?

Background: Compared to general children, orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) are more exposed to negative outcomes in…

Read more

Empowering caregivers of orphans and vulnerable children in Swaziland

This paper reports on the health and psychosocial impacts of a programme designed to economically empower female caregivers…

Read more

ZAKAT FOR THE ORPHANS IN THE DEEP SOUTH OF THAILAND

In the past nine years ,the violence situation has spiked in the Deep South Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat provinces see…

Read more