NCJ Number
99913
Editor(s)
C Winnicott
Date Published
1984
Length
296 pages
Annotation
Written between 1939 and 1970, this collection of papers presents the author's view that juvenile delinquency originates in specific types of deprivation occurring during infancy and early childhood. The papers show how this view was shaped by the author's experience as a psychiatrist dealing with children evacuated from British cities during World War II.
Abstract
The papers include journal articles, lectures, radio broadcasts, letters, and other writings. Several papers, concerning Winnicott's experiences in the war, focus on the effects of separation from the home environment and from the mother. They point out that visible signs of distress should be expected when a loss has been experienced and that the absence of such a reaction indicates a possible deeper disturbance. Next, nine papers examine the development of the antisocial tendency from birth through adolescence, emphasizing the individual's capacity to develop a sense of personal responsibility for the destructive impulses that are part of human nature. Eight writings focus on the practical aspects of handling difficult children, with emphasis on the needs of children in residential care. Three concluding papers deal with individual psychotherapy, with special attention paid to the differences in the therapeutic needs of the psychotic, the psychoneurotic, and the antisocial individual. A case involving an 8-year-old girl's compulsion to steal is presented in detail. Also provided are name and subject indexes, along with a source list.