The mental health of early mother separated women.

A community based research project was undertaken to discover whether early mother separation was related to adult mental disorder. A population sample of 73 women aged 40-49, who experienced continuous mother absences in excess of 1 year due either to family difficulties (n = 42) or external factors (n = 31), were interviewed about early life experiences and mental health. Controls (n = 69) matched for parental social class and age at father death were similarly interviewed. Three self-administered tests, the Middlesex Hospital Questionnaire, a modified Zung Depression Scale and the Navran Dependency Scale of the MMPI were also completed. It was shown that separation alone was unrelated to adult psychopathology or mental disorder. Poor preseparation maternal relationships, both alone and in combination with two or more changes of care plus unsatisfactory replacement care, contributed to an increase in psychiatric morbidity and psychopathology.