(1984). Journal of American Academy of Psychoanalysis, 12:43-57 Adolescent Individuation: The Culmination of A Developmental Line The following discussion will focus on the application of the concept of individuation to normal adolescence. Mahler (1975) has defined individuation as the developmental process that witnesses the evolution of intrapsychic autonomy and the expansion of autonomous ego functions. It is contended that this concept may be viably utilized as a supraordinate term that provides a developmentally coherent means of conceptualizing and integrating various aspects of adolescent development, particularly in regard to the status of the adolescent's internalized object relationships and the process of identity formation. Individuation will be conceptualized in terms of Anna Freud's (1965) notion of a developmental line which traces the individual's gradual outgrowing of a state of dependency to an increasing mastery of his internal and external world. In this view, individuation is seen as a progressive developmental phenomenon that witnesses increased secondary autonomy of ego functions in r [This is a summary or excerpt from the full text of the book or article. The full text of the document is available to subscribers.] |
