Causes of deprivation. Causes, treatment and types of deprivation

Deprivation is a psycho-emotional state that is described in psychology as arising due to the limitation or prolonged deprivation of the opportunity to satisfy the basic needs of the individual.

There are many types of deprivation in psychology, but they all have similar manifestations. A person who does not have the opportunity to fully satisfy his needs becomes anxious and fears begin to bother him. She becomes passive and loses interest in life. This condition may be accompanied by unexpected outbursts of aggression.

The level of deprivation varies from person to person. The “degree of damage” depends on several factors:

1. Variant of the impact of a deprivation stimulus, the degree of its “rigidity”.
2. The stability of a particular individual, experience of overcoming similar conditions.

Partial restriction of a basic need does not have such a negative impact on a person as its complete absence. How quickly a person copes with this condition also depends on the extent to which his other needs are satisfied.

Deprivation and frustration are two related concepts. Their main difference is the level of impact on the individual. Deprivation causes more harm to it, often leading to complete destruction.

With deprivation, a person is deprived of something with which he was not yet familiar: material values, communication experience, etc. But with frustration, a person is deprived of what she had, what she is familiar with and what she urgently needs: food, social benefits, physical health, etc.

Causes of deprivation

Deprivation doesn't just happen. Moreover, it can only appear in people who are internally predisposed to it. First of all, it manifests itself in people with an internal “vacuum” of values. In psychology this is described as follows. If a person has been deprived of something for a long time, then over time he loses the ability to follow the rules, norms and values ​​that exist in society. In order to exist normally, an individual must be able to adapt to the environmental conditions in which he finds himself. If he does not know how to do this, he feels internal discomfort. The way out of the situation is the formation of new ideals and values.

Types of deprivation

There are several criteria for classifying the concept of “deprivation”. According to the degree of damage, there are 2 types of deprivation:

1. Absolute deprivation. This is a complete lack of access to various benefits and the ability to meet basic needs.
2. Relative deprivation. This concept implies the subjective experience of a discrepancy between value possibilities and personal expectations.

Based on the nature of the unmet need, the following types of deprivation are distinguished:

1. Sensory deprivation. With this type of deprivation, a person is deprived of the opportunity to satisfy his needs related to the senses. Sensory deprivation is also divided into visual, auditory, tactile, and tactile. Scientists also highlight sexual deprivation, when a person has no intimate relationships for a long time.
2. Paternal. Deprivation is typical for children who grow up in a dysfunctional family.
3. Social. This type of deprivation is typical for people who are in prison, undergo treatment for a long period, boarding school residents, etc.
4. Motor. Deprivation develops as a result of restricted movement. This may be due to disability, illness, or specific living conditions. Motor deprivation leads not only to mental, but also physical disorders.

Sensory and social deprivation require special consideration.

Sensory deprivation

This concept means the complete or partial deprivation of the senses of the ability to respond to external influences. The simplest option is to use blindfolds or earplugs, which limit the capabilities of the visual and auditory analyzer. In complex cases of this deprivation, several analyzers are “turned off” at once. For example, gustatory, olfactory, visual and tactile.

Sensory deprivation brings not only harm to the body, but also benefit. It is often used in alternative medicine, psychological experiments, and psychology. Short periods of deprivation improve the functioning of the subconscious and stabilize the functioning of the psyche.

Long-term restriction of the work of sensory analyzers often provokes anxiety, restlessness, hallucinations, antisocial behavior, depression - these are the consequences of deprivation.

Touch camera experiment

In the last century, scientists decided to conduct an interesting experiment to study sensory deprivation. They invented a special chamber that protected the subjects from environmental influences. The experiment participants were positioned horizontally in the chamber. Once placed, their access to all sounds was blocked. This was done using a kind of noise of the same type. The eyes were covered with a dark bandage, and the hands were placed in cardboard sleeves. The duration of the experiment was not determined in advance, but after conducting a series of studies, scientists found that a person cannot stay in such conditions for more than three days. Such restrictions provoke hallucinations and reduce mental abilities.

Food deprivation

A special type of sensory deprivation is food deprivation. Unlike other disorders of this kind, it does not always cause negative emotions and experiences. Unpleasant sensations appear only in those who are deprived of food against their will. People who practice therapeutic fasting feel better every day, their body becomes lighter, and their vitality increases.

Sensory deprivation in children

In childhood, sensory deprivation manifests itself in the form of limitation or deprivation of the possibility of emotional contact with loved ones. If a baby ends up in a hospital or boarding school, he often experiences sensory hunger. Such changes have a negative impact on any child, but young children are especially sensitive to them. Kids should receive enough bright and positive impressions. This contributes to the formation of the ability to analyze information coming from the outside, training of the corresponding brain structures, and development in psychology.

Social deprivation

If a person is deprived of the opportunity to fully contact society, this provokes a certain mental state, which can subsequently cause the development of pathogenic symptoms and syndromes. Social deprivation can be caused by various factors. In psychology, there are several forms of this condition:

• voluntary deprivation;
• forced deprivation;
• forced deprivation;
• voluntary-forced deprivation.

Forced deprivation occurs when a person or group of people finds themselves in conditions isolated from society. These circumstances do not depend on the will or desire of the individual. An example of such deprivation would be a tragedy at sea, after which the ship's crew finds themselves stranded on a desert island.

Forced deprivation occurs when a person is isolated, contrary to his wishes. An example of such a situation is people who are in prison, boarding school students, and conscripts. Voluntary deprivation occurs in cases where a person limits the satisfaction of the need for communication at his own request. Such people include sectarians and monks. An example of voluntary-forced deprivation is students of a sports school.

For an adult, the consequences of social deprivation are not as catastrophic as for children. Limitations in communication negatively affect the child’s life efficiency and mental development.

Scientists distinguish emotional, maternal, paternal deprivation and sleep deprivation into a separate group. Let's take a closer look at them.

Emotional deprivation

Emotions and feelings play an important role in a person’s life. Personality is formed under their influence. The emotional sphere helps a person adapt to various life changes. Thanks to emotions, a person realizes his place in life. They influence the cognitive sphere, form perception, thinking, memory, and develop consciousness.

If a person is deprived of the ability to satisfy the emotional sphere, then his cognitive area becomes poor and limited as a result of deprivation. This negatively affects normal mental development. Thanks to psychological research, it has been revealed that the desire of parents to have a baby in the family has a significant influence on a child’s attitude towards life.

The next important stage in the development of the personal sphere is early childhood. If at this time the baby is surrounded by attention and receives a sufficient amount of positive emotions, then he is unlikely to experience emotional deprivation, and there will be no changes in psychology. But if it’s the other way around, then the child is prone to deprivation disorders. There is a risk of such deviations occurring even if the baby is constantly in an emotionally volatile environment.

A person who was deprived of positive emotions in childhood often experiences feelings of loneliness and melancholy as an adult, and develops an inferiority complex in psychology.

The lack of emotions also affects physical development - the baby develops late, his medical indicators do not reach the norm. But if the child finds himself in a normal environment, the indicators change sharply in a positive direction. A striking example of such “healing” is children from orphanages who end up being raised in full-fledged families.

Normal, full sleep is the key to good health and well-being. If for some reason a person is deprived of the opportunity to get enough sleep, this affects his physical and mental state. When it comes to an isolated case, it will not have a negative impact on health. But when a person is regularly deprived of proper sleep, he develops deprivation disorders.

During a night's rest, the hormone of joy is produced. If a person does not get enough sleep, the functioning of his endocrine system is disrupted, and metabolic processes slow down. This type of deprivation leads to weight gain, depression, and headaches.

What else happens to a person who is deprived of proper sleep?

• 1 day without sleep - worsening reaction, loss of strength;
• 2 days without sleep - impaired motor activity, decreased mental reactions;
• 3 days without sleep - the appearance of unbearable headaches;
• 4 days without sleep - suppression of will, the occurrence of hallucinations. This is the most dangerous form of deprivation, after which serious and irreversible processes occur in the body. There is a threat to human life.

Interesting fact. Scientists have proven that depriving a person of sleep can bring him not only harm, but also benefit. As a result of numerous studies, it was found that depriving a person of a certain phase of sleep helps him get rid of a prolonged depressive state. Despite the paradox, this phenomenon has a simple explanation.

Sleep deprivation is stressful for the body. In this state, the production of catecholamines begins - special hormones responsible for emotional tone. Thanks to shock psychotherapy, an interest in life appears and a person begins to be active. Doctors do not recommend resorting to such treatment methods on your own. It must be carried out under the supervision of a doctor.

Maternal deprivation

The loss of a mother or prolonged deprivation of communication with her leads to maternal deprivation, which negatively affects the personal development of the baby. The following situations also have a negative impact on the child’s mental development:

1. Woman goes to work too early
2. Mother goes on a long business trip, session
3. Separation from mother after difficult birth
4. The child is sent to kindergarten very early
5. Mother and child are separated due to illness

The situations listed above refer to open deprivation. There is also a hidden form, in which the mother is actually with her child, but there is psychological tension between them. What are the reasons for such deprivation? In psychology, the following reasons are identified:

1. The mother’s excessive passion for scientific literature and “correct” parenting methods. The woman absolutely does not pay attention to the individual characteristics of the baby and does not listen to her intuition.
2. Hostile or tense relationship between father and mother.
3. The mother has health problems, as a result of which she cannot allocate sufficient time and fully care for the baby.
4. The birth of similar children into a family. The mother is under constant stress and therefore cannot provide adequate care for the baby.

The risk group includes children born as a result of an unwanted pregnancy. This negatively affects the mother’s relationship with the child, who always subconsciously feels this. An important period in the development of a child is an early age - from 0 to 3 years. At this time, contact with the mother is important for the full development of the child’s psyche. Otherwise, internal aggression and depression arise. As an adult, such a child will not be able to build normal relationships with people around him. There is a theory that maternal mental deprivation is the cause of autism.

Paternal deprivation

The father should be involved in raising the child no less than the mother. Depriving a baby of emotional contact with his dad leads to paternal deprivation. What situations can lead to its appearance?

• lack of positive emotional relationships between father and child, despite the physical presence of a man in the house;
• father leaving the family;
• realization of ambitions by the child's father;
• violation of role positions in the family. In this case, the father takes over the maternal functions and vice versa.

How does paternal deprivation affect children's development? The child misidentifies his gender and becomes incompetent and emotionally vulnerable. This also affects the ability to properly build relationships with people, the inability to correctly and competently build relationships with one’s own children.

Depriving a child of the opportunity to satisfy basic needs negatively affects the development of the brain and the formation of cognitive functions. The baby grows up disorganized and unsure of himself. He rarely smiles or expresses his emotions. His physical and mental development slows down, and dissatisfaction with himself and his own life develops.

As a result of psychological studies, it was revealed that for the normal, full development of a baby, you need to hug and kiss at least 8 times a day.

In adults, deprivation occurs against the background of a deprivation state experienced in childhood, this leaves an imprint on psychology. He feels unnecessary, cannot find his place in life, experiences depression, and a constant feeling of anxiety. It is possible to get out of this state, but long-term psychotherapeutic work with specialists is necessary.

Help for people who have suffered deprivation

Correctional and psychotherapeutic work has several stages and directions. Only careful and consistent study of each stage will help to cope with the negative consequences that arise as a result of deprivation.

Areas of work:

1. Working with self-esteem, improving relationships with people. A person learns to see the positive aspects of life situations, carefully analyze them and adequately evaluate them.
2. Working with personal vulnerability. A person learns to perceive a situation without unnecessary emotions, learns prudence, and sees cause-and-effect relationships.
3. Working with the identification of feelings. A person learns to interact with other people, express emotions, and understand the feelings of other people.

Working with a person who has faced deprivation can take place individually or in a group. The psychotherapist selects techniques and methods of work, focusing on what kind of deprivation has taken place in a person’s life, its duration and the degree of influence on the psyche. It is not advisable to correct the consequences yourself so that the situation does not worsen further.

In psychology there is such a thing as deprivation. It means a mental reaction to an unsatisfied need. For example, a girl was abandoned by her boyfriend and she is overcome by emotional deprivation, because she begins to experience a deficit of emotions, miss what was before, but no longer receive it. Many such situations can be cited depending on the types of deprivation. But the most important thing is to know how to prevent such a condition or reduce its manifestations to a minimum.

Definition

The word came to us from the Latin language. Deprivation is translated as “loss”, “deprivation”. This is what happens: a person loses the opportunity to satisfy his psychophysiological needs and experiences negative emotions. It could be resentment, anxiety, fear and much more. And, in order not to get confused in definitions, it was decided to reduce this state of loss into a single whole. This is how the concept of deprivation arose, which covers all possible emotions. The essence of deprivation is the lack of contact between desired responses and the stimuli that reinforce them.

Deprivation can plunge a person into a state of severe internal emptiness, from which it is difficult to find a way out. The taste for life disappears, and the person begins to simply exist. He does not enjoy food, his favorite activities, or socializing with friends. Deprivation increases the level of anxiety; a person becomes afraid to try new behavior patterns, trying to maintain a stable state in which he is comfortable. He falls into a trap of his own mind, from which sometimes only a psychologist can help. Even the strongest personality sometimes “breaks” under the influence of a particular situation.

Many people confuse deprivation with frustration. After all, these states definitely have something in common. But these are still different concepts. Frustration refers to the failure to achieve satisfaction of a certain need. That is, a person understands where negative emotions come from. And the phenomenon of deprivation is that it may not be realized, and sometimes people live for years and do not understand what is eating them. And this is the worst thing, because the psychologist does not understand what to treat.

Species

Delving deeper into the topic, we will consider different types of deprivation in theory, and also give examples for a complete understanding. Classification involves dividing according to the type of need that was not satisfied and caused deprivation.

Sensory (stimulus)

From the Latin sensus - feeling. But what is sensory deprivation? This is a state that includes all stimuli associated with sensations. Visual, auditory and, of course, tactile. A banal lack of physical contact (handshakes, hugs, sexual intimacy) can provoke a severe condition. It can be dual. Some begin to compensate for the sensory deficit, while others become aggressive and convince themselves that “they didn’t really want it.” A simple example: a girl who was not loved in childhood (her mother did not press her to her chest, her father did not roll her on his shoulders) will either look for tenderness on the side in promiscuous sexual intercourse, or will withdraw into herself and become an old maid. From one extreme to another? That's right. Therefore, sensory deprivation is very dangerous.

A special case of this type is visual deprivation. It happens rarely, but, as they say, “aptly.” A person who has suddenly and abruptly lost his sight can become a hostage to visual deprivation. It is clear that he gets used to doing without him, but psychologically it is very difficult. Moreover, the older a person is, the more difficult it is for him. He begins to remember the faces of his loved ones, the nature around him and realize that he can no longer enjoy these images. This can lead to prolonged depression or even drive you crazy. The same can be caused by motor deprivation, when a person loses the ability to move due to illness or an accident.

Cognitive (informational)

Cognitive deprivation may seem strange to some, but it is one of the most common forms. This type of deprivation consists of deprivation of the opportunity to receive reliable information about something. This forces a person to think out, invent and fantasize, viewing the situation through the prism of his own vision, giving it non-existent meanings. Example: a sailor setting off on a long voyage. He has no way to contact his relatives, and at some point he begins to panic. What if your wife cheated? Or did something happen to your parents? At the same time, it is important how those around him behave: whether they will calm him down or, conversely, egg him on.

In the TV show "Survivor" that used to air, people were also in cognitive deprivation. The editors of the program had the opportunity to inform them about what was happening on the mainland, but they deliberately did not do this. Because it was interesting for the viewer to watch the characters being in an unusual situation for a long time. And there was something to watch: people began to worry, their anxiety increased, and panic began. And in this state it was still necessary to fight for the main prize.

Emotional

We have already talked about this. This is a lack of opportunities to receive certain emotions or a turning point in a situation in which a person was emotionally satisfied. A striking example: maternal deprivation. This is when a child is deprived of all the delights of communication with his mother (we are not talking about the biological mother, but about a woman who is able to give the baby love and affection, maternal care). And the problem is that nothing can replace this. That is, if a boy was raised in an orphanage, he will remain in a state of maternal deprivation for the rest of his life. And even if in the future he will be surrounded by the love of his wife, children and grandchildren, it will not be the same. Echoes of childhood trauma will be present.

Hidden maternal deprivation can occur in a child, even if he is raised in a family. But if the mother constantly works and does not devote time to the baby, then he will also need care and attention. This also happens in families where, after one child, twins or triplets are suddenly born. All the time is spent on the younger children, so the eldest is plunged into forced maternal deprivation.

Another common case is family deprivation. It includes deprivation of communication not only with the mother, but also with the father. Those. lack of family institution in childhood. And again, having matured, a person will create a family, but he will play a different role in it: no longer a child, but a parent. By the way, paternal deprivation (deprivation of the opportunity to be raised with a father) is gradually becoming normal due to a free attitude towards sexual intercourse. A modern man may have several children from different women, and, of course, some of them will suffer from a lack of paternal attention.

Social

Limitation of the opportunity to play a social role, to be in society and to be recognized by it. Psychosocial deprivation is inherent in older people who, due to health problems, prefer not to leave home and while away their evenings alone in front of the TV. This is why various circles for pensioners are so valuable, where grandparents at least just communicate.

By the way, social deprivation can also be used as punishment. In a mild form, this is when a mother does not allow an errant child to go out with friends, locking him in a room. In severe cases, these are prisoners who spend years, or even life, in prison.

Features in children

In psychology, deprivation in children is often considered. Why? Firstly, because they have more needs. Secondly, because an adult who is deprived of something can somehow try to compensate for this deficiency. But a child cannot. Thirdly, children do not just experience deprivation hard: it often affects their development.

A child needs the same needs as an adult. The simplest thing is communication. It plays a key role in the formation of conscious behavior, helps to acquire many useful skills, develop emotional perception, and increase the intellectual level. Moreover, communication with peers is very important for a child. In this regard, children of rich parents often suffer, who, instead of taking the child to kindergarten, hire him a bunch of governesses and teachers at home. Yes, the child will grow up well-mannered, well-read and polite, but social deprivation will not allow him to find his place in society.

Deprivation can also be seen in pedagogy. Its difference is that this need is not felt in childhood. On the contrary: sometimes a child does not want to study, it is a burden for him. But if you miss this opportunity, then severe pedagogical deprivation will begin in the future. And it will be expressed in the lack of not only knowledge, but also many other skills: patience, perseverance, desire, etc.

Manifestations

External methods of manifestation are the same as in adults. And parents or educators must correctly recognize the child’s emotions in order to understand whether it is a whim or one of the signs of deprivation. The two most recognizable reactions are anger and withdrawal.

Anger and aggression

The cause of anger can be dissatisfaction of a physiological or psychological need. They didn’t buy candy, didn’t give him a toy, didn’t take him to the playground - it would seem like nonsense, but the child gets angry. If this state is repeated, it can turn into deprivation, and then anger will manifest itself not only in screaming and throwing things, but also in more complex states. Some babies tear out their hair, and some may even experience urinary incontinence as a result of aggression.

Closedness

The opposite of anger. The child compensates for deprivation by trying to convince himself that he does not need this toy or candy. The baby calms down and withdraws into himself, finding activities that do not require an outburst of emotions. He can silently assemble a construction set or even just mindlessly move his finger along the carpet.

Any unmet mental deprivation in childhood can have a negative impact on the future and develop into serious psychological trauma. Practice shows that most murderers, maniacs and pedophiles had problems either with their parents or with society. And all this was the consequences of emotional deprivation in childhood, because this is what is most difficult to compensate for in adulthood.

The psychological problems of deprived children have been considered by many psychologists. Diagnostics and analysis made it possible to understand what exactly is gnawing at children of this or that age. Many works are studied by contemporaries, who build their own methods to help parents and their children. Interesting are the deprivation descriptions of J.A. Komensky, J. Itard, A. Gesell, J. Bowlby.

Sleep deprivation

Another common deprivation that affects many modern people. In simple terms, this is a banal lack of sleep. It is noteworthy that some people deliberately do this, spending their nights not in bed, but in nightclubs or near the computer. Others are forced to lose sleep due to work (workaholics), children (young mothers), and anxiety. The latter can be caused by various reasons. And if a person does not sleep due to increased anxiety, he finds himself in a vicious circle. At first he is anxious and therefore does not sleep. And then sleep deprivation leads to anxiety.

Sleep deprivation in depression refers to a forced state. Because a person may want to sleep, but cannot. That is, he is in bed, then sleep does not occur due to depressive thoughts that arise. To overcome both conditions - sleep deprivation and depression - just get some sleep.

Help

Not every deprivation syndrome requires the intervention of psychologists. Often a person can cope with this condition on their own or with the help of family and friends. There are plenty of examples. To get out of social deprivation, it is enough to sign up for dancing or another hobby group. The problem of lack of intellectual resources is solved by connecting to unlimited Internet. The deficit of tactile contacts disappears after the establishment of a love relationship. But, of course, more severe cases require a serious approach, and global assistance (sometimes at the state level) cannot be avoided.

Rehabilitation centers help cope with the consequences of childhood social deprivation, where the child receives not only attention and care, but also communication with peers. Of course, this only partially covers the problem, but it is important to make a start. The same applies to organizing free concerts or tea parties for retirees who also need communication.

Psychology also fights deprivation in other ways. For example, compensation and self-realization in other activities. Thus, people with disabilities often begin to engage in some kind of sport and participate in Paralympic competitions. Some people who have lost their arms discover a talent for drawing with their feet. But this applies to sensory deprivation. Severe emotional deprivation is difficult to compensate for. The help of a psychotherapist is needed.

We are all social creatures. Each person belongs to a specific social group. Developing normally, a child communicates with parents, peers and other children and adults, and his basic needs are met. If physical or difficult, then such a child’s communication will suffer, therefore, he will not be able to communicate his needs and will not receive their satisfaction. But there are situations when, seemingly normal, there is a limitation of personal contacts and other needs. This phenomenon is called “deprivation”. In psychology, this concept is considered very carefully. A deprived personality cannot live and develop harmoniously. What does this concept mean and what types of deprivation are there? Let's figure it out.

What is deprivation in psychology?

In psychology, deprivation means a certain mental state in which a person cannot satisfy his basic needs. This also occurs in the case of depriving a person of any benefits to which he is already very accustomed. It should be noted that this state does not arise for all rejected needs. There are a large number of desires and aspirations of a person, but if he does not achieve them, there is no significant damage to his personal structure. What is important here is the satisfaction of vital needs and requirements. In psychology, deprivation is not any deviation from a person’s usual life activities. This state is a deep experience.

The difference between frustration and deprivation

These two concepts are close in meaning, but are not identical. Frustration is considered in science as a reaction to a personal stimulus. A person can feel sad, withdraw into himself for several hours or even days after some stressful situation, then return to normal life. Deprivation in psychology is a much more severe and painful condition. It can have a destructive effect on a person. It differs from frustration in intensity, duration and severity. Deprivation can combine several unmet needs at once; in this case, various types of this condition are observed.

What causes deprivation?

There are certain internal causes of deprivation. This condition affects people who, for some reason, have an internal vacuum of values. What does deprivation have to do with this? In psychology, this condition and many others are interconnected. After all, personality is holistic in its versatility. If a person has been alone for a long time, in prison, in a sick state, he loses the ability to follow all the norms, rules and values ​​of society. As a result, his concepts do not coincide with the hierarchy of values ​​of the people around him, and an intrapersonal vacuum arises. He cannot be in this state all the time, since life goes on and a person needs to adapt to its course and the demands that society places on him. As a result, the individual stands on the path to the formation of new ideals on the basis of an already destroyed hierarchy of needs and values.

Deprivation in human psychology has long been considered by scientists in search of methods to neutralize it. After all, such feelings as deprivation, hopelessness, a sense of lost personal dignity and others do not bring positive aspects for personal development.

What are the types of this concept?

Deprivation in Russian psychology is of three types:

• emotional;
• sensory;
• social.

These are the main types of deprivation, but in reality there are many more. Probably, as many suppressed and unsatisfied needs exist, there are as many types of this condition. But many of them are identical in their manifestation. In mental terms, deprivation is, in psychology, sensations such as fear, constant anxiety, loss of vital activity, one’s own life and those around you, prolonged depression, outbursts of aggression.

But despite the similarity of sensations and experiences, the degree of immersion of the individual in this state is different for everyone. This depends on a person’s resistance to stress, the degree of hardening of his psyche, as well as on the power of the deprivation effect on the individual. But just as there are compensatory capabilities of the human brain at the physiological level, the same property of the psyche manifests itself. When other human needs are fully satisfied, the deprivation state regarding one unsatisfied one will be less intense.

Emotional deprivation in psychology

It happens that this condition arises due to unexpressed emotions when a person is completely or partially deprived of various emotional reactions. Most often it is a lack of attention from other people. This condition rarely occurs in adults, but the psychology of childhood deprivation pays quite a lot of attention to this phenomenon. In the absence of love and affection, the child begins to experience the sensations described above. Emotional deprivation is very closely related to maternal deprivation, which we will talk about below.

For adults, so-called motor deprivation brings much greater destruction. This is a condition in which a person is limited in his movement due to injury or illness. Sometimes a disease or physical abnormality is not as terrible as a person’s reaction to it. It is very difficult for specialists to return people in this condition to active life.

Sensory deprivation

Sensory deprivation in psychology involves depriving a person of various sensations. Most often, it is provoked artificially to study a person’s ability to withstand difficulties. Such experiments are carried out to train aviation professionals, government power plant workers, intelligence officers, military specialists, and so on.

In most cases, such experiments are carried out by immersing a person to depth in a box or other limited device. When a person spends a long time in this state, a state of mental instability is observed: lethargy, low mood, apathy, which after a short time are replaced by irritability and excessive excitability.

Social deprivation

Deprivation manifests itself in different ways in psychology. Various groups of society are also susceptible to this condition. There are societies or social groups that deliberately deprive themselves of communication with the outside world. But this is not as scary as complete social deprivation for one person. All members of youth organizations, sects and national minorities who have separated themselves from society at least communicate with each other. Such people do not have irreversible effects on their psyche caused by social deprivation. The same cannot be said about long-term prisoners in solitary confinement or people who have experienced psychotic disorders.

Being alone with oneself for a long time, a person gradually loses social communication skills and interest in other people. There are also cases where a person stopped speaking because he forgot the sound of his voice and the meaning of words. Social deprivation can also affect people who are sick and can become infected. Therefore, there is a law on non-disclosure of such diagnoses.

Maternal deprivation - what is it?

Phenomena such as deprivation are studied quite carefully, since the consequences of such a condition for an immature personality can be detrimental. When an adult feels uncomfortable, bad and lonely. In a child it evokes emotions that are much more intense than those listed. Children are like receptive sponges that absorb negativity much faster and stronger than adults.

A clear example of maternal deprivation is hospitalization. This is the state of loneliness of a child due to his separation from his mother. This syndrome began to be noticed especially strongly after the war in the 50s, when there were many orphans. Even with good care and proper feeding, children experienced a revitalization complex much later; they began to walk and talk late, they had much more problems with physical and mental development than those who were raised in families. After this phenomenon, experts noted that deprivation in the psychology of children entails great changes in the psyche. Therefore, methods to overcome it began to be developed.

Consequences of deprivation in children

We have already decided that the main types of deprivation in the psychology of children are emotional and maternal. This condition has a detrimental effect on the child's brain development. He grows up unsmart, deprived of a sense of confidence in love, support and recognition. Such a child smiles and shows emotions much less often than his peers. Its development slows down, and dissatisfaction with life and oneself forms. To prevent this condition, psychologists have determined that a child needs to be hugged, kissed, stroked and supported (patted on the shoulder or arm) at least 8 times a day.

How does deprivation affect the behavior of adults?

Deprivation in the psychology of adults can arise on the basis of a long-standing childhood or due to unmet needs of adulthood. In the first case, the harmful effects on the psyche will be much stronger and more destructive. Sometimes when working with such adults, specialists feel powerless. In the second case, behavior correction is possible by searching for ways to satisfy a deprived need. A person can get out of a state of self-dislike, apathy and depression with the help of a specialist.

There are three main types of mental deprivation: emotional (affective), sensory (stimulus), social (identity).

By severity: deprivation can be complete or partial.

J. Langmeyer and Z. Matejcek emphasize some conventionality and relativity of the concept of mental deprivation - after all, there are cultures in which something that would be an anomaly in another cultural environment is considered normal. In addition to this, of course, there are cases of deprivation that are absolute in nature (for example, children raised in Mowgli’s situation).

Emotional and sensory deprivation.

It manifests itself in insufficient opportunity to establish an intimate emotional relationship with any person or in breaking such a connection when one has already been created. A child often ends up in an impoverished environment, ending up in an orphanage, hospital, boarding school or other

closed institution. Such an environment, causing sensory hunger, is harmful for a person at any age. However, it is especially destructive for a child.

As numerous psychological studies show, a necessary condition for normal brain maturation in infancy and early childhood is a sufficient number of external impressions, since it is in the process of entering the brain and processing a variety of information from the outside world that the senses and corresponding brain structures are exercised .

A great contribution to the development of this problem was made by a group of Soviet scientists who united under the leadership of N. M. Shchelovanov. They found that those parts of the child’s brain that are not exercised stop developing normally and begin to atrophy. N. M. Shchelovanov wrote that if a child is in conditions of sensory isolation, which he observed more than once in nurseries and children's homes, then there is a sharp lag and slowdown in all aspects of development, movements do not develop in a timely manner, speech does not appear, inhibition of mental development is noted.

The data obtained by N.N. Shchelovanov and his colleagues were so vivid and convincing that they served as the basis for the development of some fragmentary principles of the psychology of child development. The famous Soviet psychologist L.I. Bozhovich put forward the hypothesis that it is the need for impressions that plays a leading role in the mental development of a child, arising approximately in the third to fifth week of a child’s life and being the basis for the formation of other social needs, including including the social nature of the need for communication between the child and the mother. This hypothesis is opposed to the ideas of most psychologists that the initial ones are either organic needs (for food, warmth, etc.) or the need for communication.

L. I. Bozhovich considers the facts obtained during the study of the emotional life of an infant to be one of the confirmations of his hypothesis. Thus, the Soviet psychologist M. Yu. Kistyakovskaya, analyzing the stimuli that evoke positive emotions in a child in the first months of life, discovered that they arise and develop only under the influence of external influences on his senses, especially the eye and ear. M. Yu. Kistyakovskaya writes that the data obtained show “the incorrectness of the point of view according to which positive emotions appear in a child when his organic needs are satisfied. All the materials we have received indicate that the satisfaction of organic needs only removes emotionally negative reactions, thereby creating favorable preconditions for the emergence of emotionally positive reactions, but in itself does not generate them... The fact we have established is - the appearance of a child’s first smile and other positive emotions when fixating an object contradicts the point of view according to which a smile is an innate social reaction. At the same time, since the emergence of positive emotions is associated with the satisfaction of some need of the body... this fact gives reason to believe that, along with organic needs, the baby also has a need for the activity of the visual analyzer. This need is manifested in positive reactions, continuously improving under the influence of external influences, aimed at receiving, maintaining and strengthening external stimuli. And it is on their basis, and not on the basis of unconditioned food reflexes, that the child’s positive emotional reactions arise and are consolidated and his neuropsychic development occurs.” Even the great Russian scientist V.M. Bekhterev noted that by the end of the second month the child seems to be looking for new impressions.

Indifference and lack of a smile in children from orphanages and orphanages were noticed by many from the very beginning of the activities of such institutions, the first of which date back to the 4th century AD (335, Constantinople), and their rapid development in Europe dates back to approximately the 17th century. There is a well-known saying of a Spanish bishop dating back to 1760: “In an orphanage, a child becomes sad and many die of sadness.” However, the negative consequences of staying in a closed children's institution began to be considered as a scientific fact only at the beginning of the 20th century. These phenomena, first systematically described and analyzed by the American researcher R. Spitz, were called by him the phenomena of hospitalism. The essence of the discovery made by R. Spitz was that in a closed children's institution a child suffers not only and not so much from poor nutrition or poor medical care, but from the specific conditions of such institutions, one of the essential aspects of which is a poor stimulus environment. Describing the conditions of detention of children in one of the shelters, R. Spitz notes that children constantly lay in glass boxes for up to 15-18 months, and until they got to their feet, they saw nothing but the ceiling, because there were curtains hanging on our sides. The children's movements were limited not only by the bed, but also by the depressed depression in the mattress. There were very few toys.

The consequences of such sensory hunger, if assessed by the level and nature of mental development, are comparable to the consequences of deep sensory defects. For example, B. Lofenfeld found that, based on developmental results, children with congenital or early acquired blindness are similar to deprived sighted children (children from closed institutions). These results manifest themselves in the form of a general or partial delay in development, the emergence of certain motor characteristics and characteristics of personality and behavior.

Another researcher, T. Levin, who studied the personality of deaf children using the Rorschach test (a well-known psychological technique based on the subject’s interpretation of a series of pictures depicting colored and black-and-white blots), found that the characteristics of emotional reactions, fantasy, and control in such children are also similar to those of orphans from institutions.

Thus, an impoverished environment negatively affects the development of not only the child’s sensory abilities, but also his entire personality, all aspects of the psyche. Of course, hospitalism is a very complex phenomenon, where sensory hunger is only one of the moments, which in real practice is impossible to even isolate and trace its influence as such. However, the depriving effect of sensory hunger can now be considered generally accepted.

I. Langmeyer and Z. Matejcek believe that infants raised without a mother begin to suffer from the lack of maternal care and emotional contact with the mother only from the seventh month of life, and before this time the most pathogenic factor is the impoverished external environment.

According to M. Montessori, whose name occupies a special place in child psychology and pedagogy, the author of the famous system of sensory education, and which went down in history as the Montessori system, which participated in the organization of the first children's homes, nurseries for children of the poorest segments of the population, the most sensitive The period from two and a half to six years is the most sensitive for the child’s sensory development, and therefore subject to the greatest danger from the lack of various external impressions. There are other points of view, and, apparently, the final scientific solution to the issue requires additional research.

However, for practice, the thesis can be considered fair that sensory deprivation can have a negative impact on the mental development of a child at any age, at each age in its own way. Therefore, for each age, the question of creating a diverse, rich and developing environment for a child should be specifically raised and solved in a special way.

The need to create a sensory-rich external environment in children's institutions, which is currently recognized by everyone, is in fact implemented in a primitive, one-sided and incomplete manner. So, often with the best intentions, struggling with the dullness and monotony of the situation in orphanages and boarding schools, they try to maximally saturate the interior with various colorful panels, slogans, paint the walls in bright colors, etc. But this can eliminate sensory hunger only for a very short time. Remaining unchanged, such a situation will still lead to it in the future. Only in this case this will happen against the background of significant sensory overload, when the corresponding visual stimulation will literally hit you over the head. At one time, N.M. Shchelovanov warned that the maturing brain of a child is especially sensitive to overloads created by prolonged, monotonous influence of intense stimuli.

Social deprivation.

Along with emotional and sensory deprivation, social deprivation is also distinguished.

The development of a child largely depends on communication with adults, which affects not only the mental, but also, in the early stages, the physical development of the child. Communication can be viewed from the perspective of various humanities. From the point of view of psychology, communication is understood as the process of establishing and maintaining purposeful, direct or indirect contact by one means or another between people who are somehow connected to each other psychologically. Child development, within the framework of the theory of cultural-historical development, is understood by Vygotsky as the process of children’s appropriation of socio-historical experience accumulated by previous generations. Gaining this experience is possible by communicating with elders. At the same time, communication plays a decisive role not only in enriching the content of a child’s consciousness, but also determines its structure.

Immediately after birth, the child has no communication with adults: he does not respond to their requests and does not address anyone himself. But after the 2nd month of life, he begins to interact, which can be considered communication: he begins to develop a special activity, the object of which is an adult. This activity manifests itself in the form of the child’s attention and interest in the adult, emotional manifestations in the child towards the adult, proactive actions, and the child’s sensitivity to the adult’s attitude. Communication with adults in infants plays a starting role in the development of responses to important stimuli.

Examples of social deprivation include such textbook cases as A.G. Hauser, wolf children and Mowgli children. All of them could not (or spoke poorly) speak and walk, often cried and were afraid of everything. During their subsequent upbringing, despite the development of intelligence, disturbances in personality and social relationships remained. The consequences of social deprivation are irremovable at the level of some deep personal structures, which manifests itself in distrust (except for group members who have suffered the same thing, for example in the case of children developing in concentration camps), the importance of the feeling “WE”, envy and excessive criticism.

Considering the importance of the level of personal maturity as a factor in tolerance to social isolation, we can assume from the very beginning that the younger the child, the more difficult social isolation will be for him. The book of Czechoslovak researchers I. Langmeyer and Z. Matejcek “Mental deprivation in childhood” provides many expressive examples of what social isolation of a child can lead to. These are the so-called “wolf children”, and the famous Kaspar Hauser from Nuremberg, and essentially tragic cases from the lives of modern children who have not seen or communicated with anyone since early childhood. All these children could not speak, walked poorly or did not walk at all, cried incessantly, and were afraid of everything. The worst thing is that, with a few exceptions, even with the most selfless, patient and skillful care and upbringing, such children remained defective for the rest of their lives. Even in those cases where, thanks to the ascetic work of teachers, the development of intelligence occurred, serious disturbances in personality and communication with other people persisted. At the first stages of “re-education”, children experienced an obvious fear of people; subsequently, the fear of people was replaced by unstable and poorly differentiated relationships with them. In the communication of such children with others, importunity and an insatiable need for love and attention are striking. Manifestations of feelings are characterized, on the one hand, by poverty, and on the other hand, by acute, affective overtones. These children are characterized by explosions of emotions - violent joy, anger and the absence of deep, lasting feelings. They practically lack higher feelings associated with the deep experience of art and moral conflicts. It should also be noted that they are very vulnerable emotionally, even a minor remark can cause an acute emotional reaction, not to mention situations that really require emotional stress and internal resilience. Psychologists in such cases speak of low frustration tolerance.

The Second World War brought a lot of cruel life experiments on social deprivation to children. A thorough psychological description of one of the cases of social deprivation and its subsequent overcoming was given in their famous work by A. Freud, daughter of Z. Freud, and S. Dan. These researchers observed the rehabilitation process of six 3-year-old children, former prisoners of the Terezin concentration camp, where they were sent as infants. The fate of their mothers and the time of separation from their mother were unknown. After their release, the children were placed in one of the family-type orphanages in England. A. Freud and S. Dan note that from the very beginning it was striking that the children were a closed monolithic group, which did not allow them to be treated as separate individuals. There was no envy or jealousy between these children; they constantly helped and imitated each other. It is interesting that when another child appeared - a girl who arrived later, she was instantly included in this group. And this despite the fact that the children showed obvious distrust and fear of everything that went beyond the boundaries of their group - the adults who cared for them, animals, toys. Thus, the relationships within the small children's group replaced for its members the relationships with the outside world of people that were disrupted in the concentration camp. Subtle and observant researchers have shown that it was possible to restore relationships only through these intragroup connections.

A similar story was observed by I. Langmeyer and Z. Matejcek “of 25 children who were forcibly taken from their mothers in work camps and raised in one secret place in Austria, where they lived in a cramped old house among the forests, without the opportunity to go out into the yard, play with toys or see anyone other than their three inattentive teachers. After their release, the children also screamed all day and night at first, they did not know how to play, did not smile, and only with difficulty learned to maintain the cleanliness of their bodies, which they had previously been forced to do only by brute force. After 2-3 months, they acquired a more or less normal appearance, and the “group feeling” greatly helped them during readaptation.

The authors give another interesting, from my point of view, example, illustrating the strength of the feeling of WE in children from institutions: “It is worth mentioning the experience of those times when children from institutions were examined in a clinic, and not directly in an institutional environment. When the children were in the reception room in a large group, there were no differences in their behavior compared to other preschool children who were in the same reception room with their mothers. However, when a child from an institution was excluded from the team and he was left alone in the office with a psychologist, then after the first joy of an unexpected meeting with new toys, his interest quickly fell, the child became restless and cried, “that his children would run away.” While children from families were in most cases content with the presence of their mother in the waiting room and collaborated with the psychologist with an appropriate measure of confidence, the majority of preschool children from institutions could not be individually studied due to their inability to adapt to new conditions. This was possible, however, when several children entered the room at once and the child being examined felt supported by the other children who were playing in the room. The matter here concerns, apparently, the same manifestation of “group dependence”, which - as we have already mentioned - characterized in a particularly pronounced form certain groups of children brought up in concentration camps, and also turned into the basis of their future reeducation" (reeducation. - Author). Czechoslovak researchers consider this manifestation to be one of the most important diagnostic indicators of “institutional-type deprivation.”

The analysis shows: the older the children, the milder forms of social deprivation manifest themselves and the faster and more successful compensation occurs in the case of special pedagogical or psychological work. However, it is almost never possible to eliminate the consequences of social deprivation at the level of some deep personal structures. People who suffered social isolation in childhood continue to experience distrust of all people, with the exception of members of their own microgroup who have suffered the same thing. They can be envious, overly critical of others, ungrateful, and always seem to be waiting for a trick from other people.

Many similar traits can be seen in boarding school students. But perhaps more indicative is the nature of their social contacts after finishing their studies at the boarding school, when they entered normal adult life. Former pupils experience obvious difficulties in establishing various social contacts. For example, despite a very strong desire to create a normal family, to enter the parental family of their chosen one or chosen one, they often fail on this path. As a result, everything comes to the point that family or sexual connections are created with former classmates, with members of the very group with which they suffered social isolation. They experience distrust and a sense of insecurity towards everyone else.

The fence of an orphanage or boarding school became a fence for these people, separating them from society. He did not disappear, even if the child ran away, and he remained when they married him, entering adulthood. Because this fence created a feeling of being an outcast, dividing the world into “Us” and “Them”.

(late Latin deprivatio - loss, deprivation) (in psychology) - a mental state, the occurrence of which is caused by the life activity of an individual under conditions of prolonged deprivation or significant limitation of the ability to satisfy his vital needs.

Absolute deprivation

Absolute deprivation is the impossibility for a person, as well as for a social group, to satisfy their basic needs due to lack of access to material goods and social resources. For example, to housing, food, education, medicine.

Relative deprivation

Relative deprivation is understood as a subjectively perceived and also painfully experienced discrepancy between value expectations (living conditions and benefits that people believe they are entitled to in all fairness) and value opportunities (living conditions and benefits that can be obtained in reality).

Similarities and differences between deprivations

Despite the variety of types of deprivation, their manifestations in psychological terms are essentially similar. As a rule, the mental state of a deprived person is revealed in his increased anxiety, fear, and a feeling of deep, often inexplicable for the person, dissatisfaction with himself, his environment, and his life.

These conditions are expressed in loss of vital activity, in persistent depression, sometimes interrupted by bursts of unprovoked aggression.

At the same time, in each individual case the degree of deprivation “defeat” of the individual is different. The severity and correlation of two main groups of factors are of decisive importance here:

1. the level of stability of a particular individual, his deprivation experience, the ability to withstand the impact of the situation, i.e. the degree of her psychological “hardening”;
2. the degree of severity, modification power and a measure of the multidimensionality of deprivation effects.

A partial restriction of the possibilities of satisfying one of the needs, especially in the case of a temporary deprivation situation, is fundamentally less dangerous in its consequences for the individual compared to cases when he finds himself in conditions of prolonged and almost complete impossibility of satisfying this need. And yet, the unidirectional deprivation effect, no matter how severe it may be, can sometimes be significantly weakened due to the full satisfaction of the remaining basic needs of a given individual.

The difference between deprivation and frustration

Concept deprivation in content-psychological terms it is related, but not identical to the concept " frustration". Compared to the latter, deprivation is a significantly more severe, painful and sometimes personally destructive condition, characterized by a qualitatively higher level of rigidity and stability compared to the frustration reaction. In different circumstances, different needs may be deprived. In this regard, the term deprivation is traditionally considered as a generic a concept that unites a whole class of mental states of a person that arise as a result of a long distance from the sources of satisfaction of a particular need.

Deprivation differs from frustration in that that previously a person did not possess what he is now deprived of. For example, material goods, communication, travel. When frustrated, a person was well aware of the presence in his life of respect, health, food, salary, social benefits, marital fidelity, and living loved ones.

Types of deprivation

In psychology, it is customary to distinguish the following types of deprivation:

• motor,
• sensory,
• maternal,
• social.

Motor deprivation

Motor deprivation is a consequence of a sharp limitation in movements caused either by illness, injury, or such specific living conditions that lead to pronounced chronic physical inactivity.

Psychological (actually personal) deformations, which motor deprivation leads to, are in no way inferior in depth and intractability to surmounting, and sometimes even surpass those physiological abnormalities that are a direct consequence of illness or injury.

Sensory deprivation

Sensory deprivation is a consequence of “sensory hunger”, i.e. a mental state caused by the inability to satisfy the most important need for any individual for impressions due to the limitation of visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory and other stimuli. The deprivation situation here can be generated, on the one hand, by certain individual physical disabilities, and on the other, by a complex of extreme circumstances of the subject’s life activity that prevent adequate “sensory saturation.”

In psychology, such conditions are described using the term “poor environment.” A mental state traditionally designated by the concept of “social deprivation”.

Social deprivation

Social deprivation is a consequence, for one reason or another, of a violation of an individual’s contacts with society. Such violations are always associated with the fact of social isolation, the degree of severity of which can be different, which in turn determines the degree of severity of the deprivation situation. At the same time, social isolation in itself does not fatally predetermine social deprivation.

Moreover, in a number of cases, especially if social isolation is voluntary (for example, monks, hermits, sectarians moving to remote, hard-to-reach places), such “social retreat” of an internally rich, spiritually stable, mature personality not only does not lead to the emergence deprivation syndrome, but also stimulates the qualitative personal growth of the individual.