Identification with the Aggressor

Identification with the Aggressor (German: Identifizierung mit dem Angreifer)[1] is one of the forms of identification conceptualized by psychoanalysis. Specifically, it is a defence mechanism that indicates taking the role of the aggressor and his functional attributes, or imitating his aggressive and behavioral modality, when a psychological trauma brings about the hopeless dilemma of being either a victim or an abuser.[2]

History

The concept was first introduced by Sándor Ferenczi in his clinical diary on 24 June 1932[3] and then developed in his paper "The Passions of Adults and their Influence on the Development of the Character and the Sexuality of the Child" (German: Die Leidenschaften der Erwachsenen und deren Einfluß auf Charakter und Sexualentwicklung des Kindes)[4] for the 12th International Psycho-Analytic Congress in Wiesbaden, Germany, on 4 September 1932.[5][6] He further elaborated this work until he published it in 1949 in The International Journal of Psychoanalysis with the new title "Confusion of the Tongues Between the Adults and the Child—(The Language of Tenderness and of Passion)".[7] In 1936, Anna Freud took up and developed the concept in her book The Ego and the Mechanisms of Defence (German: Das Ich und die Abwehrmechanismen).[1][8]

See also

In art

References
  1. Laplanche, Jean; Pontalis, Jean-Bertrand (2018) [1973]. "Identification with the Aggressor". The Language of Psychoanalysis. Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-429-92124-7.
  2. Prior, Stephen (2004) [1996]. Object Relations in Severe Trauma. Psychotherapy of the Sexually Abused Child. Lanham, Maryland: Jason Aronson. p. 64. ISBN 978-0-765-70018-6.
  3. Ferenczi, Sándor (1995) [1988]. Dupont, Judith (ed.). The Clinical Diary of Sándor Ferenczi. Translated by Michael Balint, Nicola Zarday Jackson (illustrated, reprint, revised ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press. p. 144. ISBN 978-0-674-13527-7.
  4. Massing, Almuth (2013) [1990]. Massing, Almuth (ed.). Psychoanalytische Wege der Familientherapie. System Familie, Supplement. Springer-Verlag. p. 48. ISBN 978-3-642-75598-9.
  5. Sabourin, Pierre (December 17, 2019). "Confusion of Tongues between Adults and the Child". Encyclopedia.com. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  6. Rachman Wm., Arnold. "Ferenczi's "Confusion of Tongues" Paper: A Turning Point in the Understanding and Treatment of Trauma". Archived from the original on November 20, 2008. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  7. Ferenczi, Sándor (1949) [1932]. "Confusion of the Tongues Between the Adults and the Child—(The Language of Tenderness and of Passion)". International Journal of Psycho-Analysis. 30 (4): 225–230.
  8. Freud, Anna (1994) [1936]. Das Ich und die Abwehrmechanismen (6th, reprint ed.). Frankfurt: Fischer Taschenbuch Verlag. ISBN 978-3-596-42001-8. Die Identifizierung mit dem Angreifer.

Further reading
  • Frankel, Jay (2002). "Exploring Ferenczi's Concept of Identification with the Aggressor: Its Role in Trauma, Everyday Life, and the Therapeutic Relationship". Psychoanalytic Dialogues. 12 (1): 101–139. doi:10.1080/10481881209348657.
  • Howell, Elizabeth F. (March 2014). "Ferenczi's concept of identification with the aggressor: understanding dissociative structure with interacting victim and abuser self-states". The American Journal of Psychoanalysis. 74 (1): 48–59. doi:10.1057/ajp.2013.40. PMID 24603172.
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