Adolescent alcoholism in Benin City, Nigeria

The consumption of alcohol by Nigerian adolescents is investigated. Adolescence and alcoholism as applied in this study are defined, and the financial costs and physical and mental effects of alcohol use are described. The author used unobtrusive methods to gather data, visiting three nightclubs and an amusement park where alcohol is served in order to observe and interview adolescents. The findings show that adolescents begin drinking at an early age and consume large quantities of beer. The findings are consistent with those of other epidemiological studies. Finally, recommendations for controlling adolescent alcohol use are made.     

School discrimination and the high school dropout: a case for adolescent advocacy

The literature supports the theory that high school dropouts are unable to find employment when they leave school, and that girls who dropout are more likely than boys to return. It was hypothesized that schools may not want to take back students who had once dropped out of school. To investigate the schools' response to dropouts trying to return, three actors were used to portray a male dropout, a female dropout and a parent of a dropout. Fifteen schools were contacted, to determine the differences in response to each actor. The results indicate that schools were more likely to accept the child who is represented by the parent, and that schools reacted more favorably to the parent. The results are discussed and specific recommendations made for program and practice.     

Identity conflict in Mexican-American adolescents

Mexican-American adolescents of migrant origin present conflicting attitudes in their selection of ideal characters and images for identification. As minority members, identification with members of outside groups appears blocked for them. At the same time, encounters with outside society seem to undermine identification processes that develop within their own group, their families, and community. This study concludes that relationships of dominance and dependence in the outside society foster inhibitions to the process of identification, and disturbances in the mechanisms of defense in the minority member. These relationships seem to interfere with the internalization and adoption of significant others' characteristics and attitudes.     

The princess in the tower: Zelda Fitzgerald's creative impasse

Gifted women often find it difficult to integrate an acceptable social image with an autonomous artistic identity. This paper explores the ambitions and conflicts of Zelda Fitzgerald, who aspired to be an artist in several fields, but whose fame is largely contingent on the role she played in the life of her husband, F. Scott Fitzgerald. Zelda's flamboyant public pose, which served as a model for many of her husband's literary characters, is interpreted as an attempt to organize a consistent identity configuration by means of constant appeals for applause from an admiring audience. But although this configuration provided some stability and cohesion for her during her twenties, it was a superficial and vulnerable structure which failed to support her serious artistic aspirations. An examination of the separation conflicts and difficulties in internalization which contributed to Zelda's dilemma leads to a consideration of the role of the father in the organization of differentiated female achievements. Although Zelda Fitzgerald's pathology was extreme, her struggles suggest useful insights into the intrapsychic and social barriers commonly confronting creative women.     

A preliminary report on defenses and conflicts associated with borderline personality disorder

The authors present preliminary psychodynamic findings from a naturalistic study of borderline personality disorder compared to antisocial personality disorder and bipolar type II (depression with hypomania) affective disorder. An independent psychodynamic interview of each subject was videotaped from which ratings were made of the presence of 22 defense mechanisms and 11 psychodynamic conflicts. A factor analysis of ratings from 81 subjects supported the separation of borderline (splitting, projective identification) from narcissistic defenses (devaluation, omnipotence, idealization, mood-incongruent denial). While certain groups of defenses were associated with each diagnosis, defense ratings did not significantly discriminate the three diagnostic groups, suggesting a limit to their diagnostic value. Among 27 subjects rated, borderline personality was strongly associated with two conflicts: separation-abandonment, and a global conflict over the experience and expression of emotional needs and anger. Antisocial personality was psychodynamically distinct and more heterogeneous. Bipolar type II was associated with two hypothesized depressive conflicts: dominant other and dominant goal. Chronic depression, which was more common in both personality disorder groups than in bipolar type II, was associated with a third depressive conflict, overall gratification inhibition. Overall, conflicts were powerful discriminators of the three diagnostic groups. The heuristic value of these findings is discussed.