A Rorschach Study in Folie à Deux of Mother and Son

Abstract

Communicated mental illness or “folie à deux” in which the parent appears to have influenced the child is a frequently found disturbance in general practice and Child Guidance Clinics. The child is especially disposed to such a disturbance because he lives during the first years of his life in almost complete identification with the parents' psyche. In a healthy environment his growing consciousness will gradually resolve this identity, and thereby develop his ego and individuality. If, however, one or both parents suffer from mental illness this process is liable to be disturbed, and the child will remain fixated to the disordered psyche of the parent.

Psychological studies.

“…In comparison with a normal control group, the schizophrenics gave significantly fewer correct solutions; manifested, significantly more frequently, processes which were of a lower level of maturity; ancl showed a significantly higher concreteness in language attitude. In combination with the findings obtained by Werner and Kaplan (410) with children, the author interprets his results as indicating that the level of language function in the schizophrenic bcars a closer similarity to that of the young child than it does to that of the normal adult.…”