Recent Psychoanalytic Contributions to the Understanding and Treatment of Criminal Behaviour

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Abstract
The child as he develops fluctuates between needing his mother and wanting to go off to explore the world on his own. The mother's capacity to respond to these changing needs is crucial to the child's development. It is suggested that many delinquents are immature and suffer from similar swings of mood; in this case the containment function of the correctional system can be viewed as not entirely negative and punitive and can provide the beginnings of an effective treatment program. Once the delinquent accepts the 'safety' of his 'containment' he frequently can express his anger and talk to people about his disappointments.

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