Tabin J K
Chicago Center for Psychoanalysis, IL.
Bull Menninger Clin. 1992 Spring;56(2):209-20.
Particular transitional experiences--such as moving through space or into sleep--may evoke the use of transitional objects by children in their second year of life. Toddlers still identify objects by their position in space. Thus, at the point in development when a child first synthesizes a cohesive ego, literal transition of the child from one place to another can disrupt incipient confidence in a sense of self. An object representing the self that the child transports to the new place can reinforce a sense of personal control and personal continuity. Such use, which the author terms self-objectification, explains why the presence or absence of the mothering caregiver is not necessarily the determining factor in whether a child employs a transitional object. Later in life (e.g., adolescence), when identity issues again become crucial, concrete transitional mechanisms can again help reduce anxiety. The author uses case material from the treatment of three adolescents to illustrate this phenomenon.
特定的过渡性经历——比如在空间中移动或进入睡眠——可能会引发两岁儿童对过渡性客体的使用。学步儿童仍然通过物体在空间中的位置来识别它们。因此，在儿童首次整合出一个连贯自我的发展阶段，孩子从一个地方到另一个地方的实际过渡可能会扰乱对自我感的初步信心。孩子带到新地方的代表自我的物体可以增强个人控制感和个人连续性。作者将这种使用称为自我客观化，这解释了照顾者母亲的在场或不在场不一定是孩子是否使用过渡性客体的决定性因素。在生命后期（例如青春期），当身份认同问题再次变得至关重要时，具体的过渡机制可以再次帮助减轻焦虑。作者使用了对三名青少年治疗的案例材料来说明这一现象。
