The Annual of Psychoanalysis. Xii/xiii, 1984/1985: Self Preservation and the Preservation of the Self. Arnold H. Modell. Pp. 69-86.

The author explores the parallel relationship between the oedipus complex, with its eroticism, and the formation and preservation of the self. Both the oedipus complex and narcissistic problems are found in patients with narcissistic personality disorders. Oedipal pathology stems from conflict over erotic wishes primarily from within the person. Narcissistic pathology is caused by defects in the relationship between the child and its caretaker or "holding environment." These latter defects involve distorted communication and lack of validation of affects and ideas between the self and its caretakers. Emotionally absent or misleading parents, and those who deny or assault the child's sense of separateness and autonomy, interfere with separation and individuation and cause the child to have defects in selfobject differentiation. Eroticism forms an early bridge between the erotic object relatedness of the oedipus complex and the preservation of the self. This is seen in the eroticism of the infant at the breast. The eroticism is related both to the breast (object) and to self-preservation (food, nurturance). Later this erotic bridge will split. The eroticism attached to the object (breast) will eventually include the emotional nurturance of the holding environment that allows for the preservation of the self. Just as familial factors influence the formation of the self, cultural influences and their conflicts with the beliefs of the self may contribute to formation and deformation of the self.