Perception of maternal availability in childhood and selected psychosocial characteristics in adulthood.

The associations between reported perception of maternal availability in childhood and a set of psychosocial measures in adulthood were examined. Participants were 362 medical students who were divided into three groups based on their retrospective report of maternal availability before their 5th birthday: Mothers mostly available (n = 260), partly available (n = 70), and mostly unavailable (n = 32). Those with mostly unavailable mothers scored significantly higher on the intensity and chronicity of loneliness scales, reported more depression, scored lower on self-esteem, perceived themselves as less healthy, evaluated the same stressful events more negatively, and perceived both of their parents more negatively than those with mostly available mothers.