On the psychology and psychopathology of primal-scene experience

The importance of primal-scene experience is suggested by the wide range of attention it has received, with a multitude of derivative phenomena being attributed to its influence. Emphasis has been on possible psychiatric problems, and almost all available reports are clinical and anecdotal. The classical psychoanalytic view has been that such stimulation, be it through actual witnessing or fantasy, results (especially in children) in experience of anxiety, intense eroticization, and sadomasochistic confusions about sexuality. It is suggested here that issues of affectional love and fears of aloneness and feelings of vulnerability may often be the focus of primal-scene reactions. A wide range of evidence has been presented here to support the view that primal-scene experience per se is not necessarily deleterious, and that traumatic or pathogenic effects usually occur only within a context of general brutality or disturbed family relationships. In contradistinction, some emphasis here has been placed on possible positive effects of primal-scene experience. There is a clear need for further study, especially among nonpsychiatrically selected persons, for understanding to be advanced regarding the vicissitudes of both normal and pathological primal-scene experience.