anaclitic depression
- noun
- /ˌænəˈklaɪtɪk dɪˈprɛʃən/
- Specialized
:
depresión anaclítica
- The baby showed signs of anaclitic depression after being separated from his mother.
Examples
-
Psychologists observed symptoms of anaclitic depression in infants who lacked consistent emotional care.
-
Early intervention is crucial to prevent anaclitic depression in vulnerable children.
-
The orphanage study showed that many children developed anaclitic depression when separated from their mothers.
-
Many infants experience anaclitic depressions when they lose their primary caregiver.
-
Psychologists observed symptoms of anaclitic depression in infants who lacked consistent emotional care.
-
Early intervention is crucial to prevent anaclitic depression in vulnerable children.
-
The orphanage study showed that many children developed anaclitic depression when separated from their mothers.
Antonyms
How Severe
- Specialized
1
6.1
- Specialized
- Specialized
61
3.7
240
3.6
229
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
Knowing 'anaclitic' as emotional dependence and 'depression' as a clinical mood disorder allows a learner to infer this is a kind of depression tied to dependence or loss of an attachment figure, so the core relation is partly recoverable from the parts. However, the full clinical nuance (that it is a severe, progressive form seen in infants after caregiver loss) is specialized and not predictable from the constituents alone, so the expression is only partially transparent.
Etymology
The term anaclitic depression comes from a Greek word for anaclitic meaning 'to lean on' and depression meaning 'deep sadness'. Imagine a baby who must lean on its mother for care, and when that support is gone the baby becomes very sad and may stop developing, so the phrase now means severe depression in infants who lose their main caregiver.