Mohawks and combat boots: the schizoid dilemma of punks.

The author explores how clinicians may use the construct of the schizoid dilemma as a means to understand young adult punk rockers. The basic dilemma, in Fairbairn's formulation, is whether to withdraw from relational attachments because of a history of disappointments by others. The punk phenomenon may be understood as an object-relational stance resulting from a particular resolution of the schizoid dilemma. The author describes characteristics of punk individuals in terms of this construct, and discusses their relation to such possible pathology as depression and substance abuse. Finally, an explanation is offered for the phenomena that both drive an individual to treatment and lead to premature termination of it.