You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
This fragment from the analysis of a young woman highlights the manner in which an insecure mothering experience, upon which is superimposed a deficit in parental concern, caring, and responsibility, can eventuate in a significant inhibition of the ability to make an adequate love-object choice in adult life. The patient was referred by a colleague, a friend of her family, who described her as a courageous, self-sufficient young woman who was effectively making her own way but unhappy about some aspects of her life about which she was in serious conflict.
Our first meeting substantiated my referrent's impression. The patient, whom I shall call Anne, was intelligent, direct, unpretentious, and forthright. She described a crisis that had arisen in the family some years earlier and had culminated in her leaving home, taking an apartment with a classmate, and supporting herself through her last two years of college. Upon graduation she had gotten an excellent position in her chosen field and set up an apartment of her own.
She found, however, that in her relationships with men, although they began well, it was only a matter of time before she found herself being mistreated, exploited, and eventually thrown over. At first she had thought that it was just bad luck, but after a succession of such experiences she came to the conclusion that she was in some way responsible and decided to do something about it.
As the analysis proceeded, this relationship pattern was repeated many times. She would meet a young man; at first he would shower her with attentions, and then very quickly he would demand sexual intimacy. Fear that he would bring the relationship to a conclusion if she denied him would bring about her compliance. After a while