ABSTRACT
Scapegoating is the tendency to assign fault and bad intentions to one family member whose function it is to carry projected "bad" aspects of other family members. These projections are very powerful, and family psychiatry has demonstrated that they can lead to serious problems and symptoms. This chapter describes how a process of idealization affects the parent-child relationship; the opposite process may also occur. The child may be seen as a villain or monster when parents project "bad" parts of themselves, or when the child exhibits an observable defect. These two situations are closely interwoven. All parents go through a more or less intense form of disappointment with their baby; this is a normal part of the parenting process. However, when the newborn presents an actual defect, congenital disease, or is premature, the mismatch between the real and imaginary baby becomes much more difficult.
