Physical aspects of the self. A review of some aspects of body image development in childhood.
The concept of body image in psychiatric usage, although vague as a concept, is nonetheless valuable in understanding the effects on development of a child's physical defect or physical illness, or of illness in the mother. The concepts of mirroring and the development of a true self have been considered as they relate to the body. Finally, a case of anorexia nervosa in a young adolescent, wherein mirroring of the physical self by the mother was aberrant in part because of an illness in infancy, has been presented. The development of a cohesive physical self in childhood is an important area for future theoretical and clinical work which may advance our understanding of the treatment process in some children and adults.
D000293:Adolescent; D000856:Anorexia Nervosa / Q000523:psychology; D001828:Body Image; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002673:Child, Hospitalized / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000523:psychology; D004532:Ego; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011574:Psychoanalytic Theory; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy / Q000379:methods; D012803:Sick Role