title: Preoedipal determinants of a beating fantasy.
abstract: A discussion of "The Psychodynamics of a Beating Fantasy," by Wayne Myers, M.D. This paper emphasizes the role of the parental ambivalence towards the patient in the formation of beating fantasies described by Dr. Myers. It is postulated that excessive maternal ambivalence interfered with the normal resolution of ambitendency during the patient's second year, particularly with the impact of the discovery of sexual differences which takes place at that time. Under such circumstances, a split in both self- and object representations occurs, with a heightening of unbound aggression--the combination of which might well have led to the formation of the maternal aspect of the beating fantasy. Subsequent primal scene expousre, along with the excessively ambivalent paternal attitude toward the patient could only intensify the aggression and the already faltering sense of self and object. Through defensive identification with the aggressor in relation to both parents, the aggression was warded off but also led to confusion in her sense of sexual identity and further problems of self- and object constancy.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression / Q000523:psychology*; D005201:Fantasy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008418:Masturbation; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D011574:Psychoanalytic Theory; D011575:Psychoanalytic Therapy; D011606:Psychosexual Development