The authors undertake in this interesting and useful paper a task they conceive of as a major one for child psychiatry: 'to integrate concepts of intrapsychic process in a child with formulations about the effect of interpersonal relationships in the family'. They begin with a brief but remarkably well integrated and summarized overview of the early phases of individual development. The concept of family mythology—the family's 'drama' and its assigned roles as expression of family needs, conflicts, and hopes—is elaborated and then used to link the child's intrapsychic system and the family's interpersonal system. The child's assigned role in the mythology becomes a major factor in the secondary identifications the child builds upon previously established primary identifications. Failure to synchronize the family assigned role with intrapsychic development will result in various pathological adaptations. A clinical example is presented.