Identification and its vicissitudes as observed in adolescence

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychoanalysis

Background:

• Explores identification processes in self-psychology.
• Differentiates primary (narcissistic) and secondary identification stages.
• Defines identity as cohesion, continuity, and affective self-coloring.

Observation:

• Adolescence is a developmental state of mind, not just chronological.
• Traumatic disillusionment in early development can lead to a fixed adolescent state.
• This fixed state can manifest in adult patients with self pathology.

Findings:

• Identifies two key identification processes: primary and secondary.
• Links self-psychology's concepts of cohesion and continuity to the sense of identity.
• Demonstrates how early trauma can create a persistent adolescent "state of mind".

Implications:

• Understanding these identification processes is crucial for treating self pathology.
• The concept of a fixed adolescent state of mind offers new insights into adult psychological issues.
• Clinical analysis reveals idealization, de-idealization, and transmuting internalizations as key processes in this state.