ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the kinds of things that can go wrong in a child's growth, how damage actually takes place in a child's developing psyche, and how that damage usurps the promise and hopes of infancy. It examines the powerful role of external trauma in undermining one boy's early growth, and how a girl's internalization of complex family influences, seemingly benign on the surface, badly affected her future. The chapter presents the case of Oscar. Oscar's mother's description of him at kindergarten age, differing somewhat from the observer's and teachers, was also accurate. She emphasized her little boy's good sense of humor, affection, inquisitiveness, and energy. Oscar's difficulty with spontaneity has led him to be very inhibited and conflicted about sexuality. Oscar's life graphically illustrates how external trauma—crepeated encounters with death, violence, and the loss of friends—can deplete hope and trust.
