Studies of perplexity in mothers of schizophrenic children.

Abstract

HE data to be presented in this paper represent an effort to test re-T peated clinical observations of a particular set of responses in parents of schizophrenic children being treated at the Ittleson Center for Child Research. For purposes of discussion these complex phenomena, referable to parental function, have been previously subsumed under the term "Parental Perplexity" (9).l The syndrome of perplexity includes parental passivity, marked uncertainty, lack of spontaneity, absence of empathy with the child with resultant diminished awareness of the child's gratification needs, bewilderment and blandness in the face of socially unacceptable or bizarre behavior in the child, and a total absence of forthright parental control. This unstructured and nonempathic reaction to the child's needs and responses is sometimes disguised by a compensatory dependence on mechanical intellectualization and by the use of an inflexible set of rules for parenting.It should be emphasized that these parental traits refer to the immediate impact of the parent on the schizophrenic child. On a deeper level, psychodynamic studies have pointed to a frequently underlying dynamic constellation in the mothers who show this bewilderment and paralysis of parental functioning. These are often mothers who themselves have suffered early emotional deprivation so that the child is experienced as an overwhelming burden rather than as a source of maternal pleasure. As a result these mothers are dominated by an immense rage toward the child. Sometimes this rage emerges explosively for brief intervals, but more usually it is denied obvious, overt expression and diverted into a state of clinical depression.Equally important is the mother's unconscious wishful image of her omnipotent magical power. Murderous rage is thus combined with an unconscious belief in her catastrophically destructive powers. In the unconscious denial and inhibition of her rage the mother becomes dramatically blocked in the execution of her mothering role. At this point she resorts to

Concepts of Autism: A Review of Research*

“…It is well known that mothers and fathers often have very different attitudes towards each of their children, and there is nothing out of the ordinary in the suggestion that there might be a specific kind of abnormality in the parental behaviour toward only one child in the family. This kind of hypothesis is impHed in some ofthe views expressed in the literature (Rank, 1949;Boatman and Szurek, 1960;Meyers and Goldfarb, 1961;Singer and Wynne, 1963;Bettelheim, 1967).…”

“…In the first place, most writers have not carried out any kind of study to test their hypotheses. Where investigations have been undertaken, it has not been clear whether the children studied have had infantile autism or some other type of psychotic disorder (Meyers and Goldfarb, 1961;Singer and Wynn, 1963), or the differences found have been rather trivial (Goldfarb, 1961). Furthermore, there seems to be no agreement on what type of abnormality in parent-child interaction is supposed to be present.…”

“…Other writers have taken this argument much further and have suggested that autism is mainly due to psychogenic factors. This view has been put forward, for example, by Despert (1951), Goldfarb (Goldfarb, 1961;Meyers and Goldfarb, 1961), Kaufman (Kaufman et al, 1957) and especially by Bettelheim (1967).…”

Psychiatric Disorders in Children with Earlier Infantile Spasms

“…Kanner's view was that autism was partly the result of lack of affection from the parents (Kanner andEisenberg 1955, Eisenberg andKanner 1956), and some authors have agreed with that view and have suggested that autism is mainly the result of psychogenic factors (Kaufman et a/. 1957, Goldfarb 1961, Meyers and G o l d f a r b 1961, Bettelheim 1967. However, it is now generally accepted that some type of cognitive deficit probably plays a crucial r61e in the genesis of many cases ofautism, and that it can be theresult of diverse organic disorders (Rutter 1968, Rutter el a/.…”

A Review of the Double Bind Theory

“…The general attitude towards the communicational approach to the problems of mental illness is well summarized by Mora (56) in his contribution to the American Handbook of Psychiatry , even though he does not specifically refer in it to the double bind theory:…”