ABSTRACT
Maternal deprivation, or a disturbed emotional bond between mother and child, was said to cause irreparable damage, not only to the child, but to society as a whole. This chapter describes the social backgrounds to the growth of theories in which maternal love plays a central role. It discusses the contents of the theories; at a theoretical level a connection was made between maternal love, discipline, mental health and the prevention of criminality. J. Bowlby and other theoreticians worked on a new model for the management of emotions of individuals, in order to achieve a new balance between 'freedom' and 'attachment'. Psychologists and psychoanalysts all wrestled with the question of how to control the child's aggressive impulses without using authoritarian power and blunt repression. More and more psychiatrists sought the cause of emotional disturbances in inter-psychic conflicts, instead of in intra-psychic conflicts.
