ON THE THIN LINE BETWEEN CONNECTION AND SEPARATION - THE INDIVIDUATION PROCESS, FROM COGNITIVE AND OBJECT-RELATIONS PERSPECTIVES, IN KIBBUTZ ADOLESCENTS

The study explores the individuation process among kibbutz children an d adolescents. Individuation is defined as developmental process of se paration of the self from one's family. The process encompasses intrap sychic and interpersonal changes leading to an autonomous self within relational contexts. The major objective of the study is to examine th e relationship between the social-cognitive perspective and the object relation school of psychoanalytic theory of the individuation process , in a communal life. Mazer's individuation interview of 1985, Levine et al.'s Separation-lndividuation Test of Adolescence (SITA) of1986, U rist's The Mutuality of Autonomy Scale of 1977, and Coonerty's The Sep aration-lndividuation Theme Scale of 1986 were administered to four ag e groups (N = 60): late childhood (9-10 years), early adolescence (13- 14 years), midadolescence (16-17), and late adolescence (20-22 years). From the social-cognitive perspective, four individuation levels were defined as age increased. Results confirmed that older subjects const rue self and self-other relationships on a higher level of the individ uation sequence than younger ones. From the psychoanalytic perspective , results partly confirmed the hypothesis that adolescents exhibit the second individuation process. Accordingly on the SITA a significant i ncrease of engulfment-anxiety was higher in early adolescence and subs equent age groups than in fate childhood Findings on the two Rorschach 's scales point to a common pattern: In late childhood there is a lowe r level of differentiation between self and object representation and the themes are more primitive than in older age groups. At early adole scence there is a significant constriction of psychic expression throu gh defensive as well as shallow responses. In middle adolescence, psyc hic expression becomes richer revealing differentiation of the self an d ambivalence between merging and separatedness in object relations. T hese features also characterize the late adolescence group. Findings i ndicate that the social-cognitive aspect of the individuation process proceeds faster than the intrapsychic and unconscious aspects.