ABSTRACT
In disregarding chronology and thinking metapsychologically in terms, that is, of pervasive states of mind, it is possible to recognize the infantile structures which are present in the adult, and the adult structures which are present in the infant, if only momentarily. In adulthood a clear and unconfused sense of gender identity may be regarded as the foundation of a properly separated capacity to love and to work. It is this link between a coherent sense of a sexual self and the nature of introjective processes that must now be considered at some length. An adult sense of identity is manifest in a person's capacity to understand and perform those internal functions. A strong sense of identity grows out of such a capacity, and a false or confused sense grows out of a narcissistic identification with roles rather than with genuine qualities.
