Use Of Transitional Objects Research Articles

Separation Individuation and Transitional Object Use in Daily Smoker Adolescents

Background Smoking is an important problem in adolescence. Early developmental trajectories are also associated with cigarette smoking. Objectives The present study aims to evaluate the separation-individuation process and use of transitional objects in daily smoker adolescents. Method The research included 97 adolescents who were daily smokers and 210 adolescents who were nonsmokers. Transitional object assessment questionnaire, strength and difficulties questionnaire- adolescent form(SDQ), children’s depression inventory(CDI) and state-trait anxiety inventory for children(STAI-C), separation and individuation test of adolescence(SITA) were applied. Results SITA subscales scores of engulfment anxiety, need denial, and rejection expectancy was higher and separation anxiety, teacher enmeshment, nurturance seeking scores were statistically significantly lower in smoker adolescents than nonsmokers. In logistic regression analysis, separation anxiety(odds ratio [OR] 0.93; 95% confidence interval[CI] 0.87-0.98), teacher enmeshment(OR 0.93; 95% CI 0.88-0.98), practicing mirroring(OR 1.05; 95% CI 1.02,1.08) and rejection expectancy (OR 1.06 95% CI 1.02,1.11) were found to be predictors of daily smoking. The use of a childhood transitional object for feeling tired and the use of an adolescent transitional object for feeling anxious and tired was found to be significantly higher in smokers. Conclusions There are some differences in the process of separation-individuation and the use of transitional objects in the smoker group. This suggests that early developmental characteristics may be associated with smoking. Further studies are needed to better understand the causal relationship between smoking and the separation-individuation process and transitional object use.

Um olhar sobre o período de adaptação de crianças pequenas a um centro de educação infantil e o uso de objetos transicionais

O período de adaptação de crianças de zero a três anos e onze meses de idade aos centros educacionais infantis é desafiador, uma vez que todos os envolvidos no trabalho pedagógico ficam imersos em impressões e expectativas sobre esse processo no ambiente escolar. Apresentamos, neste artigo, resultados obtidos em pesquisa de mestrado que tomou como sujeitos quatro docentes que atuam em duas turmas de Berçário II, no uso de metodologia de abordagem qualitativa cuja coleta de dados baseou-se em: i. observação sistemática realizada no período de adaptação a um Centro de Educação Infantil (CEI) da rede municipal da cidade de São Paulo; ii. entrevista semiestruturada e iii. dois círculos de cultura. O objetivo geral da pesquisa foi analisar o período de adaptação de bebês e crianças bem pequenas e o uso dos objetos transicionais durante a fase de inserção da criança em um CEI localizado na cidade de São Paulo. A questão central que permeou o estudo foi: Quais os usos e contribuições dos objetos transicionais no processo de adaptação de bebês e crianças em CEI? Desta, outros questionamentos emergiram: De que maneira se deu o processo de adaptação dos bebês e crianças bem pequenas ao CEI? As professoras permitiram que as crianças desfrutassem de objetos transicionais nesse período? Quais foram os objetos utilizados por elas? Que sentimentos as crianças manifestaram ao manipulá-los? O estudo fundamentou-se em autores da Pedagogia Crítica e da Psicanálise. Os resultados evidenciaram que, mediante o choro constante das crianças, os/as docentes se desdobravam para consolá-las. Os bebês e crianças bem pequenas que recorreram a objetos de apego acalmaram-se mais rápido, adormeceram antes das demais e adaptaram-se com maior facilidade à rotina do CEI, demonstrando segurança e conforto.

Transitional object use, attachment, and help‐seeking behaviour in Taiwanese adolescents

Transitional object use is psychologically beneficial for young children, but research has suggested that maintaining transitional object use into middle childhood may be associated with negative behaviour. Little is known about the continuation of transitional object use into adolescence, and few studies have been conducted with non‐Western populations. To examine differences in attachment and attitudes to help seeking in adolescents who did and did not use a transitional object, 723 adolescents from Taiwan (M age = 14 years) were asked about their current and past use of transitional objects. Measures of attachment were obtained using the Revised Adult Attachment Scale, and attitude toward help was measured using the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale. In total, 37% of the sample continued transitional object use in adolescence. Current use of a transitional object differentiated the sample on the measures of attachment and help seeking. Transitional object users were less likely to have secure attachments and less likely to express positive attitudes toward seeking help. Transitional object use is prevalent in Taiwanese adolescents, and we suggest that continued use of a transitional object acts as an indicator of potential withdrawal from support offered in schools.

Transitional Objects to Faciliate Grieving Following Perinatal Loss.

Parents who experience a perinatal loss often leave the hospital with empty arms and no tangible mementos to validate the parenting experience. Opportunities to create parenting experiences with transitional objects exist following the infant's death. This article offers suggestions for staff in units where infant loss is possible to best assist parents in optimal grieving through the offering of transitional bereavement objects. CINAHL Complete, MEDLINE, and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews were searched using the following key words-perinatal bereavement, grief, perinatal loss, transitional objects, bereavement photography-and the search was limited to 5 years and the English language. Recommendations exist and are well supported by leading neonatal and perinatal nursing and medicine organizations for the use of transitional objects to facilitate healthy grieving when parents experience perinatal loss. Transitional objects are mementos that validate the meaning of parenthood-even if the physical act of parenting was brief. Nursing and medical staff have significant roles in guiding parents to a healthy state of bereavement and ultimately managing long-term grief. Transitional objects can be provided by staff that are low-cost or free, such as taking photographs for parents, or they can involve purchased products from perinatal bereavement programs. In the latter case, funding needs are a consideration for budgeting decisions. Immediately following a loss, parents experience a brief sense of healing after receiving mementos of their infant. However, further research is needed to assess long-term effects of receiving transitional objects following perinatal loss.

Transitional object use in adolescence: a developmental phenomenon or a sign of problems?

Background: Transitional object (TO) use is suggested to be related with various health problems. Prolonged TO use in adolescence is quite common, and research on its associations with health and psychosocial wellbeing is relevant because it does not necessarily represent pathologies in this age group.Aims: To investigate the role of transitional phenomena and attachment to an inanimate object in adolescence, possible explanatory variables were studied, including sociodemographic and psychosocial factors and self-image.Methods: The study group consisted of 992 subjects (433 boys and 559 girls), mean age 14.5 years (SD = 0.5), who were studying at comprehensive schools in the City of Turku, Finland. Information about the TO use and background data were collected with a semi-structured questionnaire. Mental distress and self-esteem were assessed by the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire (OSIQ).Results: The multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that, in the whole study group, significant explanatory factors for the TO use included female gender (p < 0.0001), frequent pain and aches (p = 0.008), and, of the OSIQ sub-scales, low Emotional Health (p = 0.006). For girls, significant explanatory factors for the TO use were pain and aches (p = 0.003) and low Emotional Health (p = 0.002). For boys, the only statistically significant explanatory factor was pain and aches (p = 0.02).Conclusions: The TO may serve as a soothing element for somatoform pain symptoms in adolescence. Identifying of the TO use may help one see an adolescent’s possible distress, symptoms of pains, and problems in psychological resilience.

Deixisand Desire: Transitional Notation and Semiotic Philosophy of Education

The philosophical underpinnings of this article are the Peircian notion of the triadic nature of the sign as iconic, linguistic and indexical, and the use of the sign as a ‘Zeug’ or thing as a means of pointing to or deixis in the context of creative activity in the classroom. This involves Lyotard's conception of desire as the generation of a space where the pupil can be affected by what the world donates. Both deixis and desire take on added value in relation to the psychoanalytic theories of Winnicott in terms of the role of transitional object use in the generation of ‘potential space’, and Nussbaum's notion of tyche or being on the lookout for what the world has to offer. In terms of education, the central section of the article looks at the way these notions can be applied to teaching and learning in the secondary art classroom. This involves the use of what I have termed transitional notation, combining all three Peircian sign modes on a surface of inscription that is ‘ready-to-hand and that operates as what the anthropologist Alfred Gell termed an ‘index of agency’.

The ‘potential space’ of transitional creative notation

In this paper, the author links what he terms ‘transitional creative notation’ to Winnicott’s post-Freudian psychoanalytic theory of ‘transitional object use’ and ‘potential space’. The paper explores the way in which ‘transitional object use’ and ‘potential space’ relate to Heidegger’s notion of the ‘ready-to-hand’ and to the use of what Kress has termed a ‘multi-mode’ set of signs that are open to possibilities of reconfiguration as well as a continual interplay between closure and disclosure. The paper argues that transitional multi-mode notation frees human consciousness towards emergent potentialities and possibilities and, as such, is a practical example of the enduring philosophical problem of potentiality and actualization, process and closure. While the paper highlights the materiality of creativity, it also looks to Kristeva’s notion of the ‘Semiotic Chora’ as a source of creativity that precedes the engenderment of ‘potential space’. Finally, the paper discusses transitional creative notation in terms of what the author terms Das Gegenwerk, or the work towards the work that is in opposition to definitive closure.

Adult Attachment to Transitional Objects and Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is characterized by tumultuous, unstable personal relationships, difficulty being alone, and an inability to self-soothe. This may explain why patients with BPD tend to develop strong attachments to transitional objects such as stuffed animals. Research in hospital settings has linked the use of transitional objects to the presence of BPD. Using a nonclinical community sample (N = 80) we explored the link between attachments to transitional objects and various aspects of personality pathology, as well as to childhood trauma, and parental rearing styles. People who reported intense current attachments to transitional objects were significantly more likely to meet criteria for a BPD diagnosis than those who did not; they also reported more childhood trauma, rated their early caregivers as less supportive, and had more attachment problems as adults. Heavy emotional reliance on transitional objects in adulthood may be an indicator of underlying pathology, particularly BPD.

The Transition from Object Faith to Personal Faith: Transitional Subjects

In this article, I argue that human beings begin life with an object faith, which is conditioned by the personal faith of good enough parents. The infant initially uses transitional objects as faith objects to negotiate the vicissitudes of internal and external reality. The infant’s use of transitional objects as faith objects is dependent on and supported by the parent’s personal faith, which facilitates the infant’s belief in and experience of being an-end-in-her/himself-as-a-me-subject-object—existential aliveness. Later, the child makes use of transitional subjects in learning to subordinate object recognition to personal recognition, as well as to begin to handle the life long challenges of interpersonal intimacy and vulnerability. The parent’s consistent recognition and treatment of the child as a person, as well as timely repairs of relational disruptions, make possible the child’s belief in and experience of being-an-end-in-her/himself-as-a-person-with-other-persons. God representations may function as transitional subjects, serving to secure, maintain, and support forms of interpersonal relations—fellowship, friendship, community, etc.

The prevalence of transitional object use in adolescence: is there a connection between the existence of a transitional object and depressive symptoms?

The purpose of the study was to investigate the prevalence of the use of a transitional object (TO) in adolescence and its connection with depressive symptoms and mental distress in youth by gender. The study group consisted of 1,054 adolescents (465 boys, 589 girls) from normal comprehensive schools in Turku, a Finnish town with approximately 175,000 inhabitants. The mean age of both gender groups was 14.5 years (SD 0.5); respondents came from all social classes. Background and TO information was collected with questionnaires. Depressive symptoms and mental distress were explored by the children's depression inventory (CDI) and its subscales: low self-confidence, anhedonia and sadness. Of all respondents, 29% (n = 285) had a TO: 37% of girls and 18% of boys. The difference between genders was statistically significant. There was also a statistically significant gender difference in the character of the TO reported: 72 % of girls with a TO had a soft toy, whereas 49% of boys with a TO used hard objects, such as pens, hard toys or books. TO-users showed more depressive symptoms than non-users, but the difference was not statistically significant (P = 0.053). Significant differences were found in the CDI subscales: TO-users had more sadness than non-users and girls using a TO showed more sadness than non-using girls. TO-using boys did not differ from non-using boys with regard to sadness or the other CDI-subscales. The use of a TO seems to be common in adolescence. Adolescents with more depressive symptoms more often used a TO. The sadness of girls using TOs requires attention.

Introduction to the Special Issue: Sleep in Children with Neurodevelopmental and Psychiatric Disorders

For those clinicians and researchers who have chosen and embraced the challenges and rewards of working on a daily basis with children and families, the concept of ‘‘developmental context’’ is hardly a revelation. As with virtually any issue that pediatric practitioners confront in clinical settings or investigators examine in experimental settings or epidemiologic studies, sleep problems in childhood must be viewed in the context of normal physical and cognitive/emotional phenomena that are occurring at different developmental stages. For example, temporary regressions in sleep development often accompany the achievement of motor and cognitive milestones in the first year of life. Similarly, an increase in nighttime fears and night wakings in toddlers may be a temporary manifestation of developmentally normal separation anxiety peaking during that stage. In addition, sleep problems in the pediatric population must be viewed against a backdrop of the normal developmental trajectory across childhood and developmental norms; i.e., ‘‘normal’’ bedtime behavior, time to sleep onset, and sleep duration are obviously dramatically different in a 6-month old, 6-year old, and 16-year old. Finally, because the developmental continuum includes the transition into adulthood, insights into the prevalence, types, and impact of, as well as risk and protective factors for, sleep problems in childhood have direct relevance in regards to an increased understanding of sleep issues at all life stages. Despite the obvious importance of viewing sleep problems in both children and adults from a developmental perspective, the body of literature in developmental aspects of pediatric sleep research at this juncture is still relatively sparse. For example, there are surprisingly little large-scale epidemiological data currently available, which systematically define normal sleep and wakefulness patterns and sleep duration in the pediatric population. Most of the existing studies have utilized subjective, parentreport, retrospective, cross-sectional surveys in selected populations. Although cross-sectional studies yield important information regarding sleep in discrete age groups, by their nature they neither describe the evolution and persistence of sleep/wake patterns over time, nor do they help to elucidate the complex reciprocal relationship between sleep and cognitive/emotional development from the prenatal period through adolescence. There are even more limited data from studies utilizing more ‘‘objective’’ methods of measuring sleep quality and duration, such as polysomnography and actigraphy; and many of these studies were conducted prior to the establishment of accepted sleep monitoring and scoring standards. There are many potential reasons for this relative knowledge gap. First, as with many behavioral issues in childhood, the patient is rarely the one who presents with a chief complaint of a sleep problem. Thus, parental concerns and subjective observations regarding their child’s sleep patterns and behaviors often define sleep disturbances in the research, as well as in the clinical context. Parental recognition and reporting of sleep problems in children also varies across childhood, with parents of infants and toddlers more likely to be aware of sleep concerns than those of school-aged children and adolescents (and to report them to clinicians and researchers). Furthermore, the very definition of what behaviors constitute a sleep ‘‘problem’’ is often highly subjective and is frequently determined by the amount of disruption caused to parents’ sleep. Culturally based values and beliefs regarding the meaning, importance, and role of sleep in daily life, as well as culturally based differences in sleep practices (e.g., sleeping space and environment, solitary sleep vs. co-sleeping, use of transitional objects) also have a profound effect on how a parent

Composition and adaptation in the life of Robert Schumann

The composer Robert Schumann, who suffered from bipolar disorder, utilized his impressive musical and literary talents in attempts to adapt to multiple developmental traumas, separations, and losses as well as to the ongoing ravages of his mood disorder. By analyzing several of his Lieder, the author formulates and describes several defense mechanisms involved in these adaptations. These include identification with the lost object, the use of transitional objects and phenomena, sublimation, denial, minimization, idealization, playfulness, and the employment of healthy obsessive traits. Schumann utilized these adaptive defenses successfully for a brief period, thus coping with a difficult separation from his fiancée, Clara. Ultimately, however, he was unable to experience mature mourning regarding the deaths of several family members. The author, drawing on his extensive experience with treating bipolar individuals in outpatient settings, discusses some of the difficulties that many bipolar patients like Schumann have with mourning, including early developmental vulnerabilities to separation and loss, the disorganizing effects of bipolar mood episodes on cognition and self-coherence, the need to camouflage affects reminiscent of bipolar mood episodes, and experiencing these affects and mood episodes as traumatic reoccurrences. By studying the biographies of creative individuals such as Schumann, clinicians can expand their appreciation of their patients' adaptive capacities and thus assist them in restoring a sense of hope and vitality in their lives.

Parenting practices that limit transitional object use: an illustration

This study investigated the phenomenon of transitional object (TO) use by young children who have been parented within the framework of Attachment Parenting (AP). A sample of 275 mothers were recruited through an international magazine marketed towards AP mothers. Mothers who indicated they had children who were parented with such AP methods as breastfeeding, feeding on the infants' cue, cosleeping, and holding their child during the transition to sleep were placed into a high contact group and found to use traditional TOs significantly less than the children whose mothers did not practice these four behaviors. Only 18.2% of the sample was found to use TOs and those who did use them weaned at a significantly earlier age than children with no TO. The idea that the use of a TO may be hierarchical in nature is discussed, with the suggestion that an infant who is supported and comforted during stress by the mother does not tend to use a TO or they use the breast.

The use of transitional objects in self-directed aggression by patients with borderline personality disorder, anorexia nervosa, or bulimia nervosa.

The use of transitional objects in self-directed aggression by patients with borderline personality disorder, anorexia nervosa, or bulimia nervosa.

How do transitional objects work?: the therapist's view.

Research into the use of transitional objects (Winnicott, 1971) by adult clients in psychotherapy has given little attention to the question of how a transitional object (TO) works. This question is addressed through the use of a semi-structured interview. Data was collected on the clinical practice and theoretical understanding of TO emergence and use of three psychodynamic-interpersonal (PI) and three Gestalt psychotherapists. A grounded theory analysis suggests that a TO works by a process of embodiment which can be structured with reference to a four-level model consisting of physical, process, contextual and conceptual levels. Therapists of both orientations emphasized the TO as a focus of intersubjectivity within the therapeutic relationship. Differences between the PI and Gestalt therapists are also examined. The clinical implications of this four-level model of embodiment for the use of TOs in psychotherapy are explored, together with suggestions for further research.

Children's use of transitional objects: parental attitudes and perceptions.

Parental attitudes and perceptions toward children's use of transitional object among 75 sets of parents were examined. Overall, parents appear to understand the significance and importance of children's attachment to transitional objects, thus providing consistency in childrearing. Parental differences emerged in the following areas: situations when children want their transitional object, age children should give up transitional object use, and age parents gave up their own transitional object. Some racial and socioeconomic differences were found, however these differences must be viewed within the context of a broader cultural perspective. The study suggests that parents are perceptive and, for the most part, respectful of the significance of transitional objects in the lives of children.

Comorbidity of DSM-III-R axis I and II disorders among female inpatients with eating disorders.

Structured diagnostic interviews were used to determine DSM-III-R axis I and II diagnoses among 136 female psychiatric inpatients. To distinguish comorbidity of eating disorders with axis I and II disorders from simple diagnostic overlap, the frequency and distribution of diagnoses among the 31 patients with an eating disorder and the 105 without an eating disorder were compared. Social phobia, substance use disorders, borderline personality disorder, and avoidant personality disorder were diagnosed in a significantly larger proportion of the group with eating disorders. Future studies should focus on interpreting the meaning of the co-occurrence of these disorders in patients with eating disorders.

On the relevance of the observation of infants and young children to psychotherapeutic work with adults

Abstract This paper looks briefly at the relevance of infant and young child observation courses to work with adults and then goes on to describe how a normal young child aged 2% coped with two quite sudden changes in her life and the psychological mechanisms she used to manage her anxieties. These mechanisms - displacement, use of transitional objects, fantasy and symbolism - might equally be used by adults in later life when faced with uncertainty and change. Links are then made to psychotherapeutic work with adults.

Clinical correlates of self-mutilation in borderline personality disorder

This exploratory study sought demographic and clinical correlates of self-mutilation (self-injury without suicidal intent) in borderline personality disorder. Among 124 consecutively admitted inpatients with borderline personality disorder, there were 62 who did not mutilate themselves, 23 who mutilated themselves infrequently (fewer than five lifetime events), and 39 who mutilated themselves frequently (five or more lifetime events); each received ratings on numerous measures of psychopathology. Compared to nonmutilators, frequent mutilators were significantly more likely to be in outpatient treatment at the time of admission and had more weeks of prior outpatient and inpatient treatment; they were also more likely to receive comorbid diagnoses of current major depression, anorexia nervosa, and bulimia nervosa. Frequent mutilators had significantly higher group means on the Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation, were more likely to have attempted suicide, and were more likely to have attempted suicide more often than both infrequent mutilators and nonmutilators. The adjusted odds ratios from logistic regression analyses demonstrated that major depression, bulimia nervosa, number of prior suicide attempts, and acute suicidal ideation were each associated with greater risk of frequent mutilation. Borderline patients who frequently mutilate themselves may represent a subgroup of especially high utilizers of psychiatric treatment who are at particularly high risk for suicidal behavior and for comorbid major depression and eating disorders. Clinicians should consider aggressive treatment of comorbid axis I disorders and careful assessment of suicide risk in these patients.

Children's use of transitional objects during daily separations from significant caregivers.

Attachment behaviors of 105 toddlers were observed as the children separated from significant caregiver(s) at child care. Analysis indicated that children attached to a transitional object and using the object when separating engaged in ritualistic touching behaviors directed at a variety of targets. Results lend some support to the notion of transitional objects facilitating separation and reducing anxiety in mildly stressful situations.