ABSTRACT
As in the field of adult analysis, the descriptive nature of many of the diagnostic categories runs counter to the essence of psychoanalytic thinking, since it emphasizes the identity of or difference between manifest symptomatology while neglecting those of the underlying pathogenic factors. Forms of behavior such as lying and stealing, aggressive and destructive attitudes, and perverse activities, cannot be fitted into any scheme of normality or pathology without the background of an accurate timetable of developmental sequences. Children suffer less than adults from their psychopathology, but suffer more than adults from the other stresses to which they are exposed. The child analyst who has the task of assessing the significance of a child's disturbance is invariably also expected to give some opinion regarding his chances of mental health or illness in the future. Such stabilizing factors are high tolerance for frustration; good sublimation potential; effective ways of dealing with anxiety; and a strong urge toward completion of development.
