Alonetime : A developmental need with prenatal origins

摘要

Biological and psychological evidence supports a primary alonetime need in infancy, emanating from womb experience. I define alonetime' as an individual's need to constitute and reconstitute functioning in order to maximize perceptual and cognitive organization and well being - by oneself. Research on intrauterine life and dyadic interaction in infancy offer evidence of this need. For example, newborns show the capacity to signal needs and choice. Disengagement and self-soothing patterns in babies support an aloneness need existing parallel to one for attachment. Specifically, this paper expands on theories of solitude, and recognizes the state as essential, positive and present throughout life, though partially masked by our profound dependency needs when young Attachment to the caretaker is essential. But theories on the mother-child relationship that gained predominance studied attachment under conditions of protracted separations from caregivers and observed the robot actions of children emotionally malnourished, thus skewing researchers perceptions. Instead of producing a balanced perspective of the powerful need to attach, it became a theory of stressful attachments. A summary of other psychoanalytic alone state theories contrasts this work with that of Winnicott and Storr. Alone experiences originate outside the parent-child milieu and are closely connected to abilities of prenates to self-regulate certain behaviors. The important requisite of self-regulation links to satisfactory alonetimes. A critical fact is that individuals, even infants, are resourceful in their abilities to find sole comfort. Clinical evidence rounds the picture and shows that parents as well as therapists need to stay attuned to alone signals throughout the life cycle.