Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Depression in a pair of identical twins: The narcissistic dyad

Depression in a pair of identical twins: The narcissistic dyad DEPRESSION IN A PAIR OF IDENTICAL TWINS: The Narcissistic Dyad Gregory Fricchione, Richard Ellison, and Paul Casadonte •.. they would have bodily constitutions so similar that they would be similarly affected with sickness at the same time and by the same causes• -St. Augustine, The City of God The interaction between genetics and environment, between nature and nurture, is at the core of investigations into disturbances of maturation and development and into the etiology of psychopathology. The identical twin pair provides an ideal model for such studies. In that model, the variable of genetics is deemed essentially constant. The foci of the psychoanalytic studies of twin pairs have been on the areas of self and object differentia- tion and on the difficulties twins have with separation and individuation. Our attempt in this article is to illustrate, with the example of an identical twin pair, some of the difficulties twins face and to propose that, indeed, they may be at risk for the development of narcissistic personalities. Leonard studied cultural and parental attitudes regarding the problems of identity and ego development in twins. 1 He observed that our culture employs a mass repression of the many problems and issues inherent http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The American Journal of Psychoanalysis Springer Journals

Depression in a pair of identical twins: The narcissistic dyad

Loading next page...
 
/lp/springer-journals/depression-in-a-pair-of-identical-twins-the-narcissistic-dyad-0WGqN0i8h0

References (13)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
1983 Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis
ISSN
0002-9548
eISSN
1573-6741
DOI
10.1007/BF01253498
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

DEPRESSION IN A PAIR OF IDENTICAL TWINS: The Narcissistic Dyad Gregory Fricchione, Richard Ellison, and Paul Casadonte •.. they would have bodily constitutions so similar that they would be similarly affected with sickness at the same time and by the same causes• -St. Augustine, The City of God The interaction between genetics and environment, between nature and nurture, is at the core of investigations into disturbances of maturation and development and into the etiology of psychopathology. The identical twin pair provides an ideal model for such studies. In that model, the variable of genetics is deemed essentially constant. The foci of the psychoanalytic studies of twin pairs have been on the areas of self and object differentia- tion and on the difficulties twins have with separation and individuation. Our attempt in this article is to illustrate, with the example of an identical twin pair, some of the difficulties twins face and to propose that, indeed, they may be at risk for the development of narcissistic personalities. Leonard studied cultural and parental attitudes regarding the problems of identity and ego development in twins. 1 He observed that our culture employs a mass repression of the many problems and issues inherent

Journal

The American Journal of PsychoanalysisSpringer Journals

Published: Mar 1, 1983

Keywords: Clinical Psychology; Psychotherapy; Psychoanalysis

There are no references for this article.