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The Internalization of the “Father” Object Among Young Men and Its Relation to Separation–Individuation Patterns, Anxiety and Depression

Abstract  

While the father’s influence on his offspring’s personalities and well-being has historically been neglected, literature on
this topic has recently been accumulating. The father’s influence is touches upon numerous practical and ethical implications
for social work, psychotherapy, and psychodiagnosis. The present study draws from Mahler’s (Mahler, Separation individuation.
The selected papers of Margaret S. Mahler, 1963, 1967, 1974; Mahler et al., The psychological birth of the human infant. Symbiosis and individuation, 1975) theory of the psychological birth of the child and offers a novel focus on the pivotal internal representation of the father.
According to this theory, hindered developmental processes lead to depression and anxiety. 130 students took part in the current
study, in which the internal father object was examined with regard to separation–individuation processes, and the levels
of anxiety and depression were recorded. The study’s results show a significant negative relation between the quality of the
paternal object and levels of anxiety and depression. A theoretical model was constructed to illustrate the similarities and
discrepancies in the development of depression and anxiety in light of the father object as mediated by the separation–individuation
processes that were examined.

  • Content Type Journal Article
  • Pages 1-22
  • DOI 10.1007/s10560-012-0261-5
  • Authors
    • Kopel Eliezer, Bet Eli—Emergency Shelter for Abused Children, Tel Aviv, Israel
    • Rivka Yahav, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, Haifa University, Haifa, Israel
    • Keren Or Hen, Faculty of Social Welfare and Health Sciences, Haifa University, Haifa, Israel
    • Journal Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal
    • Online ISSN 1573-2797
    • Print ISSN 0738-0151
Posted in: Journal Article Abstracts on 04/01/2012 | Link to this post on IFP |
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