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September 25, 1962. CONCEPT OF ACTING OUT IN RELATION TO THE ADOLESCENT PROCESS. Peter Blos, Ph.D.
Dr. Blos first defined acting out in terms of its manifestations, its function, and predispositional factors. He suggested that acting out in adolescence is not determined mainly by predisposing factors but represents a phase specific mechanism.
Dr. Blos noted that the adolescent must accomplish a decathexis of the primary love objects. This occurs via a transient phase of intensified narcissism and autoerotism, which then leads to heterosexual object finding. The work of adolescence is to overcome the infantile past, and to bring it into harmony with the present and expected future.
Adolescent acting out is ubiquitous and often transient. It can best be understood as a preliminary step in remembering, and thus in the service of the synthetic function and progressive development.