English psychiatrist best known for his studies of the effect of maternal deprivation on a child's mental health and emotional development.

The interaction between children and their families is the main focus of British psychiatrist John Bowlby's work. In fact, his study "Maternal Care and Mental Health," published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1952, sparked interest and controversy that continues even today. In his research, Bowlby studied children confined to institutions and found them deficient in emotional and personality development. Bowlby's conclusion that maternal deprivation had caused the deficiencies stimulated future studies of infant-mother bonding and the effects of early separation.

John Bowlby was born in 1907, the son of a London surgeon. Following in his father's footsteps, John studied medicine along with psychology at Cambridge and in 1933 completed his medical training in London. He spent five years as an army psychiatrist before beginning...