Abstract
Clinical observations of two brothers from a severely disturbed environment are presented and discussed to illustrate some developmental aspects and polar manifestations of aggression, as well as interaction of intrinsic and environmental factors. Aggression in the older schizophrenic child turned against his own body and the self. Expressed in different forms, it depended on the level of differentiation and organization of personality and behavior. Psychopathology in the younger boy was less severe and more of a reactive nature. His aggression turned against the inconsistent and frustrating mother and later, indiscriminately, against anyone. It is suggested that pathogenetic environmental factors in the first years of life may not create special manifestations of aggression. Such factors, in interaction with intrinsic vulnerabilities, delay or distort development which, in turn, determines the mode in which aggression is expressed.
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This study was supported in part by Public Health Service Grant MH-04665 from the National Institute of Mental Health and in part by a grant from the Harriett Ames Charitable Trust.
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Campbell, M., Hersh, S.P. Observations on the vicissitudes of aggression in two siblings. J Autism Dev Disord 1, 398–410 (1971). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01540531
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01540531