EThe emotional development of childhood is fundamentally based on three axes: the psychosexual development, the object and the addiction.
Next, we will present a series of posts in which we will address how these axes are built, as well as the necessary interaction between them.
ORAL STAGE (S. Freud)
The first thing we must emphasize is that, although time limits are established, the different stages we will study do not have clearly defined boundaries between them. The oral stage is considered to last during the first year of life, that is, practically the period of breastfeeding, and, following Sigmund Freud's theories, is based on two axes: psychosexual development and object relations.
- Psychosexual development.
The characteristics of childhood sexuality are its lack of differentiation and organization, as well as its primarily autoerotic nature. These will be addressed below, as with the other stages. the source of pleasure for the infant, the object to whom it is addressed, and the purpose of the drives.
The source of pleasure It is primarily related to the aero-digestive organs: the mouth and the entire digestive system, the respiratory tract, the organs involved in phonation, the senses, and the skin.
All these areas are sources of pleasure for the child. It is a stage where they experience satisfaction during feeding, and it is also a stage especially sensitive to caresses, kisses, etc.
The object toward which the drive is directed It is the mother's breast or its substitute. It should be emphasized that it not only satisfies the infant's nutritional needs, but is also a source of pleasure in itself, independent of its nutritional function. Hence, a distinction is often made between a nutritional function and a libidinal one (which provides pleasure in itself).
The purpose of the drive This can be considered from two perspectives: the need to incorporate objects through the mouth, as if they were food, and the autoerotic function. However, during this stage of development, the child has not yet acquired the notion of the external world, and therefore there is no object perceived as such—that is, independent of the child. It is thus an objectless relationship due to the lack of differentiation between self and non-self.
This stage has been divided into several phases: a primitive oral phase from 0 to 6 months and a late oral phase from 6 to 12 months. This later phase has also been called the oral-sadistic phase due to the infant's need to bite the mother's nipple or teat.
- The object relationship
The first object is the mother, understood in a broad sense. We are referring to the person who provides the child's initial care in a consistent manner over time. However, during the first months of life, there is no clear differentiation between mother and child. The object is perceived, in any case, as fragmented. This is what is called partial objectThe total construction of the object will occur through a dialectical interaction between the mother and the child, where the relationship is progressively modulated.
Two aspects are important: the autoerotic activity of the infant and the anaclitic relation which is established with the maternal figure. It is a relationship of total dependence.
The discovery of total object This process develops through episodes of the mother's absence and the infant's ability to distinguish between their own impressions and those of the outside world. One of the contributing factors is the infant's recognition of familiar people and strangers, a skill acquired around the eighth month. This would be the Spitz's second organizerBeing The first is the appearance of the smile which appears in the first outlines of nonverbal communication between mother and child. Wallon calls this nonverbal communication "tonic dialogue".
Another aspect considered by the researchers is the ambivalent relationship which is established in the sadistic-oral stage during which the mother, depending on the situation, determines what is permitted and what is not permitted regarding the child's "aggressive" manifestations. Hence Freud tells us that aggression precedes love ("Love is born from hate").
BUILDING ATTACHMENT
Attachment is the stable and operative bond that is established between the child and his mother or the person who performs her functions in a stable manner over time.
The first studies on attachment were carried out by Bowlby during the 1960s.
He distinguished the following phases:
- Pre-attachment phase: It is the relationship that is established between mother and child during the first two months of life. As we have seen in the previous section, the child is unable to distinguish the mother as an object separate from himself.
- Attachment phase under constructionIt occurs between two and six monthsThis coincides with Spitz's first organizer (the smile). The child begins to distinguish between ends and means in their interaction with the mother and, although they differentiate between people, they do so in a still rudimentary way. Therefore, separation from the attachment figure is still possible without causing major emotional distress in the child.
- Attachment phase: It coincides with Spitz's second organizer (fear of strangers), a starting at seven monthsThis stage is characterized by: the bond is already consolidated, and separation from the attachment figure is impossible without causing significant emotional problems. The attachment figure is presented as a whole figure, contrary to Freud's later proposal. This whole figure of attachment allows the infant to create secondary attachment figures (usually the father).
Something very important at this stage is the appearance of what is called "Adjusted Belonging", That is, the child tries to influence the attachment figure through expressions of affection and behavior.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
- Psychologie pathologique. J. Bergeret and cosl
- The affective and intellectual development of the child. B. Golse
- Le premier lien. Theory of attachment. B. Pierrehumbert
