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Pathological attachments and their relationship to affective disorders in adult life

Pathological attachments and their relationship to affective disorders in adult life PATHOLOGICAL ATTACHMENTS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO AFFECTIVE DISORDERS IN ADULT LIFE Clarice J. Kestenbaum In this paper, I will attempt to describe a type of psychopathological out- come in adult life which, in my view, stems from a failure in attachment in infancy. Before doing so, I would like to present my view of attachment theory and put it into perspective with other developmental theories. One aspect of the human condition is the need to create order out of chaos. In this respect behavioral scientists are particularly skillful. We attempt to categorize certain behaviors and events and apply labels to make them easier for mental storage. The result has been that super- specialists trained in the study of human behavior follow such divergent paths that they can barely speak to one another in communicable lan- guage. The lack of a unified developmental theory has Ion 8 plagued child psychiatrists. Although it is taken for granted in all theories of development that early experience determines adult behavior, the hypothetical con- structs which give rise to the various paradigms differ widely. The "nature versus nurture" argument is at the core of the differing conceptual view- points. There is much disagreement about http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The American Journal of Psychoanalysis Springer Journals

Pathological attachments and their relationship to affective disorders in adult life

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References (62)

Publisher
Springer Journals
Copyright
1984 Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis
ISSN
0002-9548
eISSN
1573-6741
DOI
10.1007/BF01255418
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

PATHOLOGICAL ATTACHMENTS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO AFFECTIVE DISORDERS IN ADULT LIFE Clarice J. Kestenbaum In this paper, I will attempt to describe a type of psychopathological out- come in adult life which, in my view, stems from a failure in attachment in infancy. Before doing so, I would like to present my view of attachment theory and put it into perspective with other developmental theories. One aspect of the human condition is the need to create order out of chaos. In this respect behavioral scientists are particularly skillful. We attempt to categorize certain behaviors and events and apply labels to make them easier for mental storage. The result has been that super- specialists trained in the study of human behavior follow such divergent paths that they can barely speak to one another in communicable lan- guage. The lack of a unified developmental theory has Ion 8 plagued child psychiatrists. Although it is taken for granted in all theories of development that early experience determines adult behavior, the hypothetical con- structs which give rise to the various paradigms differ widely. The "nature versus nurture" argument is at the core of the differing conceptual view- points. There is much disagreement about

Journal

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis – Springer Journals

Published: Mar 1, 1984

Keywords: Clinical Psychology; Psychotherapy; Psychoanalysis

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