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Dr. Lifschutz: our topic is “a psychoanalytic view of the family—a Study of Family Member Interactions.”
I remind you from our program announcement: “The family has always played a central role in the psychoanalytic conceptualization of personality and psychopathology.” It is well known that psychoanalytic theory is variously criticized for being on the one hand too organically, biologically rooted, attributing all causes of behavior to drives and on the other hand, to being too environmental in outlook.
This panel will examine, again to quote our brochure, “the relationship between the inner reality of the child and the personalities of those most concerned with his care, which is the hallmark of the Freudian viewpoint.” In other words, psychoanalytic theory strives for correct understanding of the balance between inner and outer forces.
Dr. Samuel Ritvo will now present the introductory paper.
Dr. Ritvo: The institution of the family is a human creation which expresses and serves the biological and psychic needs of human beings. The family as the basic human organization is indispensable for adequate functioning in civilized society. Wherever family life is seriously damaged, distorted or disrupted, social pathology and mental and physical illness are rampant and uncontrollable.
Infants without families languish and lag in their development, (18) and it is for future research to determine whether or to what extent the application of our best tested knowledge of child development and child rearing in ideal non-family settings can prevent or undo the damage done to children who grow up without families.
Life in the family is an indispensable preparation for an adequate adaptation to the reality hardships and psychic stresses of life outside. We know from our slums and ghettoes the disastrous and irremediable
destructive impact of broken homes and absent fathers on children. The individual's capacity to adapt to changing environmental conditions and shifting internal sta