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January 31, 1967. THE CROSS-EYED BEAR—THE CROSS I BEAR: A STUDY OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF STRABISMUS. Edgar L. Lipton, M.D.
Dr. Lipton's tour de force is only barely hinted at by the topic of his comprehensive paper on strabismus that evolved out of psychoanalytic observations of adults and children. It is surprising that the psychological effects associated with a defect that occurs in two per cent of the population of the United States has not been studied by psychoanalysts. Two European psychoanalysts have dealt with the emotional aspects of strabismus; opthalmologists generally believe in its organic origin but many have noted a high correlation of various forms of squint with neurotic traits, such as temper tantrums, hyperactivity, emotional immaturity, short attention span, and undue fatigue.
The author observed fifteen cases, five of whom he had analyzed (three adults and two children). One of his child analysands had a pseudostrabismus; none had brain damage nor had any suffered a direct physical trauma. In an adult case, presented in some detail, it was not until the fifth year that the strabismus came up for analysis. Following typical periods of silence a sense of 'panic and a need for defensive action occurred when the patient had two simultaneous feelings or thoughts and had not known which to verbalize. He had then tried to