MATERNAL SENSITIVITY AND EGO DEFENSE DEVELOPMENT (HOLDING ENVIRONMENT, SEPARATION INDIVIDUATION, OEDIPAL, ATTACHMENT, PREOEDIPAL).
Item
-
Title
-
MATERNAL SENSITIVITY AND EGO DEFENSE DEVELOPMENT (HOLDING ENVIRONMENT, SEPARATION INDIVIDUATION, OEDIPAL, ATTACHMENT, PREOEDIPAL).
-
Identifier
-
AAI8515626
-
identifier
-
8515626
-
Creator
-
FISCHER, WILLIAM FRANCIS.
-
Contributor
-
Arietta Slade
-
Date
-
1985
-
Language
-
English
-
Publisher
-
City University of New York.
-
Subject
-
Psychology, Clinical
-
Abstract
-
This dissertation is a longitudinal, naturalistic study of the relationship of early maternal sensitivity to toddler communications and the later quality of ego defense development. The central hypothesis tested is that mothers who are rated less sensitive during the second year will have children in their sixth year who have less effective, less mature ego defense organizations when compared to subjects with more sensitive mothers.;Maternal sensitivity was measured qualitatively and quantitatively. A modified version of a scale from M. S. Ainsworth's System For Rating Maternal Care Behavior (1976) was used to generate sensitivity means for each of the four mothers in the study. The measure was applied to data from time and event samples on the four mother-toddler pairs as they interacted socially in a nursery between twelve months and twenty four months old. The four mothers had sensitivity means that differed at a statistically significant level.;Each toddler subject was again studied when he/she was five and a half years old to assess the maturity and efficacy of their ego defense organization. This was accomplished by analyzing data from: (a) a full battery of psychological tests; (b) current and former teacher observations and (c) a series of naturalistic observations of each subject in their kindergarten classroom. The aim of the ego defense analysis was to discern the varying degrees to which each subject utilized either immature, alloplastic defenses (projection, denial, projective identification, avoidance, primitive identification with the aggressor), or mature, autoplastic defenses (repression, reaction formation, isolation).;The central hypothesis correlating the less sensitive mothers with children who had more immature ego defense organizations in the sixth year was confirmed unequivocably in two subjects and to a more limited degree in the two other subjects. This result supports views that emphasize the actual quality of early social relations as a central determinant in ego defense organization. This dissertation's specific interpretation of the result is that the interactive patterns during the second year of the primary caretaker's being unaware of, not responding to, not recognizing and not accepting aspects of the toddler's self-presentation are identified with by the toddler and form the core of that child's ego defense organization.
-
Type
-
dissertation
-
Source
-
PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
-
degree
-
Ph.D.
-
Program
-
Psychology
