The idea of the oedipus complex has held a fundamental place in psychoanalytic literature. The theory is central in the thinking of psychoanalytically informed clinicians in their formulation of psychological functioning. Oedipal conflicts are believed to be the core of neurotic process, as they contain intense incestuous wishes and murderous impulses that can lead to intense feelings of guilt and anxiety (Moore and Fine 1990).

Oedipal conflicts are also of critical importance during adolescence, a period when these earlier conflicts reemerge as drives intensify. Ernest Jones (1922) wrote that adolescent development resembles development in the first five years of life, as it “recapitulates infancy, and that the