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Parental attitudes and the development of the primary transitional object

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Abstract

Research on the primary transitional object has ignored the subtle interactions that occur between parents and children in the development and use of the primary transitional object. While conscious expectations of whether the child will develop a primary transitional object do not seem to be an important factor, unconscious motivations seem to determine if parents serve as either facilitators or disturbers of the child's relationship to the primary transitional object. The ways in which parental attitudes may affect the development of the primary transitional object, and the consequences of this, are described.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Children's Psychiatric Hospital, University of Michigan Medical Center, 48104, Ann Arbor, Michigan

    Fred Busch Ph.D. (Assistant Professor of Psychology) &  Judith McKnight M.S.W. (Clinical Social Worker)

Authors
  1. Fred Busch Ph.D.
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  2. Judith McKnight M.S.W.
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Additional information

This research was conducted under the auspices of the Child Psychoanalytic Study Program (Director, Humberto Nagera, M.D.) of Children's Psychiatric Hospital, University of Michigan Medical Center. The authors express gratitude to Dr. Guillermo Pezzarossi for his help in interviewing the mothers of the children in the study.

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Busch, F., McKnight, J. Parental attitudes and the development of the primary transitional object. Child Psych Hum Dev 4, 12–20 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01434180

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01434180

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