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Biomedical subjects

S A Frankel

Publications and source records attributed to S A Frankel.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Psychological complications of short stature in childhood. Some implications of the role of visual comparisons in normal and pathological development.

This study examines the effect of short stature on the emotional development of a subgroup of children who were treated in psychoanalysis and psychotherapy. These children became capable of making accurate comparisons of body size in early latency as a result of advances in cognitive development. Recognizing their comparative smallness left them feeling vulnerable and humiliated. They responded with envy and rage toward normally endowed children and vindictively used their intellect to outwit and defeat others. They acted as if their suffering exempted them from ordinary social rules and expectations. Their preoccupation also resulted in arrests in cognitive and social development. Their distrust and intention to deceive and defeat posed particular problems for treatment. This outcome suggests that visual comparisons of size during early latency are implicated in pathological, and therefore in normal, development. Parallels are suggested between the subjective experiences of children in this group and the experiences of children with other kinds of physical deviations and compromising life circumstances.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

The exclusivity of the mother-child bond. Contributions from psychoanalytic and attachment theories and day-care research.

Both the psychoanalytic and the attachment theory literature have raised concerns about interfering with the mother-child bond during the child's first years. Their apprehension was that these disruptions could lead to psychopathology, some of which was considered serious and was classed as a disorder of attachment. The current research, discussed in this paper, challenges this view. Beginning in the first year of life, children seem capable of forming multiple bonds, while retaining the central importance of the mother-child bond. There is evidence that this core connection remains intact and has first priority in a child's mind regardless of other opportunities to relate. On the other hand, in spite of these findings, most researchers remain convinced that when the child is exposed to a disruption which exceeds his limits and which occurs on a chronic basis that a variety of disturbances may result. Some of these may be subtle and might not become manifest until later in the child's life. This paper attempts to explore the balance between the child's capacity to meet its basic needs through the core maternal relationship and collateral bonds, and the disruptive forces which actually are pathogenic.

Child Day Care Centers↗
PubMed1993

Cloning of a secretory gelsolin from Drosophila melanogaster.

Gelsolin is an actin-binding protein with the abilities to sever and cap the barbed end of actin filaments and to promote the assembly of monomeric actin. It has been identified in vertebrates both as a cytoplasmic protein and as a protein secreted into the blood plasma. Here we report the nucleic acid sequence of the full-length complementary DNA for a secretory form of gelsolin from Drosophila. The deduced amino acid sequence of 790 residues (M(r) = 87,669) contains a predicted signal peptide of 20 amino acid residues. Comparison of the Drosophila gelsolin sequence with other members of the gelsolin family of actin-binding proteins reveals the characteristic segmental repeat structure found in this class of proteins. A 42% identity is observed between Drosophila secretory gelsolin and human plasma gelsolin when their primary structures are compared. Northern blots resolve a single 3000 base message in third instar Drosophila larvae, a message that appears to be encoded by a single gene located at 82A, B on the right arm of the third chromosome.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1991

Pathogenic factors in the experience of early and late adopted children.

This study examines factors contributing to the difficulties of 20 adopted children, including their common posture of rejection toward their adoptive parents and interest in reunification with biological parents. The children adopted at or near birth used the fantasy of reunion as a reparative substitute for an intense but ambivalent relationship with adoptive parents, while children adopted after 2 years were less intimately connected with their adoptive parents. A disturbance in the relationship with the parenting figures with whom these children spent their earliest years appeared to be the most unique factor in determining this later course of events.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Joint custody awards and children: a theoretical framework and some practical considerations.

Today there is great interest in forms of custody which involve shared legal and sometimes shared physical responsibility for children. The data reviewed in this article suggest that custody arrangements arrived at through the adversarial process tend to embody the conflicts and needs of the adults involved and fall short of addressing the needs of the children. Alternately, custody arrangements that rely on mediation, which involves counseling or legal advice, may predispose toward cooperation between parents. It is recommended that a careful mental health assessment be the cornerstone for making custody decisions. A frame of reference, which is based on principles of child development and takes into consideration the realities of the post-divorce parenting relationship, is presented in an attempt to formulate criteria for selecting and modifying custody arrangements. It is hoped that over time lawyers and judges will have available improved criteria for formulating and defending their recommendations according to a child's current and changing developmental needs.

California↗
PubMed1982

A view of delayed parenting: some implications of a new trend.

The voluntary postponement of childbearing until after age 30 has become much more common, especially as new opportunities for women have emerged. Little is understood about the psychological impact on parenting and on children of women's reordering of priorities with greater emphasis on work outside the home. The assumption is made and corroborated that older mothers, who have developed competence in the world before childbearing, bring to the mothering experience strengths and shortcomings different from those of their younger counterparts. The same is assumed to be true of fathers. In a study of "on time" and delayed parenting, we found older mothers with established careers to be generally more accepting and less conflicted in the parenting role than were younger professional women. They revealed strengths which were concomitant with their level of maturity and which seemed generally advantageous for their children's development. This study suggests the need for further inquiry into the profound impact on children of parental developmental achievements and indicates that the controversy about working versus nonworking mothers may be of much less importance than an understanding of adult development and its impact on the quality of parenting.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

The treatment of a narcissistic disturbance in childhood.

This paper surveys four years of psychotherapy, beginning at age eight and a half, of a boy whose psychopathology appears to be a precursor of the narcissitic charater disorder described by Kernberg (1975). The vicissitudes of the transference related chiefly to the patient's underlying narcissistic vulnerability. Interventions were generally aimed at demonstrating the relation of the patient's naricissistic (grandiose) defense to his underlying concern about devaluation by the therapist. The advantages of focuisng on such a patient's current needs and reactions are emphasized. The speed and success of the treatment of this child vis-a-vis adults with similar psychopathology is attributed to the relative ease with which his underlying needs (and related pathological envy, rage, and fear of retaliation) could be mobilized within the therapeutic relationship. This probably reflects the fact that his character defense was not yet fully entrenched. The contribution of normal development to the therapeutic process is also identified, as is the importance of both the real relationship and times of direct gratification of the patient by the therapist.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

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Decision Making↗