ABSTRACT

While there are many factors that contribute to the development of identity, the critical one for both men and women is the early relationship with the mother. After birth the infant is only concerned with bodily comfort, hunger, and satiation. Gradually he becomes aware of his mother as a separate individual, learns to relate to her, and begins to explore his surroundings. As he first sits, then crawls and walks, he exults in his increasing mastery of his environment. In the second year, his capacity to differentiate himself from his mother brings with it a sense of his own vulnerability and helplessness, and he experiences fear of the unfamiliar and loneliness. Slowly he learns to tolerate his mother’s absence, and by about three years of age is well on the way to becoming an independent individual with his own thoughts and experiences (Mahler, 1967).