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This paper deals with the genesis of defence mechanisms as viewed from the perspective of pathological as well as normal development. The data were obtained from the observation of schizophrenic children and interpreted in regard to the importance of the oral phase in ego structure. Some links are established with ethological findings and hypotheses are mentioned concerning the processes involved in ego–id differentation.
Clinical findings, as reported and discussed in the literature, have repeatedly shown how in schizophrenia, whether in children or adults, the core pathology seems to have been organized around the vicissitudes of the oral drives as well as a very inadequate ego structure. As our interest was in a greater understanding of childhood schizophrenia, continuous observation of schizophrenic children in a special school setting seemed to offer interesting possibilities to examine the interaction of ego functions and drives. Four schizophrenic children, between the ages of seven and ten, and with no clinical evidence of organicity, were observed for a total of 45 sessions, each session being of half an hour duration. In using such an approach, it is very important to delineate what is going to be observed; otherwise the abundance of observational data becomes an impediment to understanding rather than a help.
The phenomena I decided to observe bear the impact of three different approaches. Glover has remarked (1951, p. vi):
In particular, the problem of schizophrenia will never be solved until its main type-reactions are rediscovered in the variety of primitive responses occurring during the first eighteen months of life. …
Hoffer (1949) stressed on the importance of hand–mouth integration as an essential aspect of early ego development. According to Piaget's theory (1952) of early sensorimotor development, hand–mouth–eye coordination is the cornerstone of all future intellectual development and such coordination has been carefully described in terms