CORRESPONDENCE Children without
Genealogy?A
Problem of
Adoption
Dear Sir,?May I draw attention to the observation that lack knowledge of their real parents and ancestors can be a cause of maladjustment in children. There are. of course, obvious reasons why on adoption of a baby often only very few particulars are disclosed to the adoptive parents and sometimes no particulars can be given about the adopted child's family and origin. There also is the question of whether or not it matters if a child has no knowledge of these particulars. Special attention is not generally paid to one's genealogy. It is usually accepted as a matter of fact. One is usually not more aware of it than one is of one's shadow or mirror image. Taking up, however, this analogy, it is noteworthy that the shadow and mirror image of a person have a considerable neuropsychiatry significance. They are extensions of the "body-image". That is of "the picture of our own body which we form in our The body-image is not restricted to mind". (Paul Schilder). experiences of the individual's own body but also extends beyond its confines; a hat, a piece of clothing, the voice or breath become part of it. This also applies to the shadow and the reflection in a mirror. It is the reason why the shadow was regarded by primitive people as an actual part of the body and why mirrors were used in of
witchcraft. The German romanticists Adalbert van Chamisso and his friend E. T. A. Hoffmann wrote strange stories of the imaginary loss of one's shadow and reflection in a mirror. Their heroes Peter Schlemihl and Emanuel Spikher made a pact with the devil and sold him their shadow and mirror picture. The loss of these attributes, although they were not material parts of the individuals themselves, had disastrous results. As our modern knowledge of the extended body-image shows, these fictions, fantastic as they sound, were not pure inventions of romantic minds. A further aspect of the extension of the body-image is the mtimate relationship which one possesses between one's own bodyimage and the body-images of others. As a matter of fact persons outside ourselves are essential for the development of our complete body-image. The most important persons in this respect are our real parents and the other members of our family. Knowledge of and definite relationship to his genealogy is therefore necessary for a child to build up his complete body-image and world-picture. It is an inalienable and entailed right of every person. There is an urge, a call in everybody to follow and fulfil the tradition of his family, race, nation, and the religious community into which he was born. The loss of this tradition is a deprivation which may result m the stunting of emotional development. In the light of these considerations it is understandable that 41
maladjustment in children which show that the child's knowledge of his genealogy can have harmful consequences. They can express themselves in a vague feeling within the child that some injustice was done to him. It may lead to an irrational rebellion against his adoptive parents, the world as a whole and eventually to delinquency. This problem deserves special studies and attention. there
are cases
deprivation
of
of a
Yours etc.. E. Child Guidance Clinic, Bexleyheath, Kent.
YVELLISCH.
Genealogy?A
Problem of
Adoption
Dear Sir,?May I draw attention to the observation that lack knowledge of their real parents and ancestors can be a cause of maladjustment in children. There are. of course, obvious reasons why on adoption of a baby often only very few particulars are disclosed to the adoptive parents and sometimes no particulars can be given about the adopted child's family and origin. There also is the question of whether or not it matters if a child has no knowledge of these particulars. Special attention is not generally paid to one's genealogy. It is usually accepted as a matter of fact. One is usually not more aware of it than one is of one's shadow or mirror image. Taking up, however, this analogy, it is noteworthy that the shadow and mirror image of a person have a considerable neuropsychiatry significance. They are extensions of the "body-image". That is of "the picture of our own body which we form in our The body-image is not restricted to mind". (Paul Schilder). experiences of the individual's own body but also extends beyond its confines; a hat, a piece of clothing, the voice or breath become part of it. This also applies to the shadow and the reflection in a mirror. It is the reason why the shadow was regarded by primitive people as an actual part of the body and why mirrors were used in of
witchcraft. The German romanticists Adalbert van Chamisso and his friend E. T. A. Hoffmann wrote strange stories of the imaginary loss of one's shadow and reflection in a mirror. Their heroes Peter Schlemihl and Emanuel Spikher made a pact with the devil and sold him their shadow and mirror picture. The loss of these attributes, although they were not material parts of the individuals themselves, had disastrous results. As our modern knowledge of the extended body-image shows, these fictions, fantastic as they sound, were not pure inventions of romantic minds. A further aspect of the extension of the body-image is the mtimate relationship which one possesses between one's own bodyimage and the body-images of others. As a matter of fact persons outside ourselves are essential for the development of our complete body-image. The most important persons in this respect are our real parents and the other members of our family. Knowledge of and definite relationship to his genealogy is therefore necessary for a child to build up his complete body-image and world-picture. It is an inalienable and entailed right of every person. There is an urge, a call in everybody to follow and fulfil the tradition of his family, race, nation, and the religious community into which he was born. The loss of this tradition is a deprivation which may result m the stunting of emotional development. In the light of these considerations it is understandable that 41
maladjustment in children which show that the child's knowledge of his genealogy can have harmful consequences. They can express themselves in a vague feeling within the child that some injustice was done to him. It may lead to an irrational rebellion against his adoptive parents, the world as a whole and eventually to delinquency. This problem deserves special studies and attention. there
are cases
deprivation
of
of a
Yours etc.. E. Child Guidance Clinic, Bexleyheath, Kent.
YVELLISCH.
