Suicidal Acts Among Latency-age Children as an Expression of Internal Object-Relations

This article attempts to explain the dangerous, self-injurious acts of latency-age children as acts that may be perceived as suicidal. Using the psychoanalytic object-relations theory, the author describes three cases in which the suicidal attempts seem to be the result of: role-responsiveness to the unconscious demands of the parents; a byproduct of an ongoing internal-object relationship; & an attempt to revive a lost mother. (7 refs) (SC)