[The traveler without luggage. A case of lost identity in an adolescent (author's transl)].
Loss of personal identity is a difficult problem which is relatively rarely encountered in psychiatric practice. A case is reported of an adolescent of 15 years of age with total amnesia over a period of two months. His true identity was discovered only after his photograph and story had been published in a widely-read daily newspaper. Following a discussion on the possible etiological mechanisms involved, two problems remained unresolved: the difficulty of establishing a psychopathological basis for a loss of identity, and the prognostic uncertainty inherent in restoring the adolescent's identity.
D000293:Adolescent; D000647:Amnesia / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D007046:Hysteria / Q000150:complications; D007062:Identification, Psychological; D008297:Male; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000150:complications; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000150:complications
Le voyageur sans bagage. Une amnésie d'identité chez un adolescent.