Physical aspects of the self. A review of some aspects of body image development in childhood.

The concept of body image in psychiatric usage, although vague as a concept, is nonetheless valuable in understanding the effects on development of a child's physical defect or physical illness, or of illness in the mother. The concepts of mirroring and the development of a true self have been considered as they relate to the body. Finally, a case of anorexia nervosa in a young adolescent, wherein mirroring of the physical self by the mother was aberrant in part because of an illness in infancy, has been presented. The development of a cohesive physical self in childhood is an important area for future theoretical and clinical work which may advance our understanding of the treatment process in some children and adults.