Psychologists began to manipulate the term Oedipus complex in the early 20th century with the filing of Freud. We are talking about the conflicting feelings of young children towards their parents, the premise of which is an unconscious sexual attraction.
Freud identified two areas of psychological development of the child according to the new concept: the positive and negative Oedipus complex. The first option explained the period of childhood with a pronounced desire to have a parent of the opposite sex. At the same time, a hostile behavior pattern is observed in relation to the boy to dad, and the girls to mom. Despite this, the process is considered positive, as it indicates heterosexual attraction.
The scientist called the second type of development of the mental sphere negative, because he saw bisexual signs of relationships in it. A child at a certain stage in his life begins to show sexual desire for a parent of his gender. In this case, the boys direct the act of competition to the mother, and the girls to the father.
Trends in behavior and expression of feelings can periodically intertwine in complex combinations of hetero - and homosexual attraction.
In the course of studies it was found that the Oedipus complex is most pronounced in children who have reached the age of three, four years, five years. Further, during the latent stage of development, the psychological problem completely exhausts itself. With the onset of the puberty phase, the sexual issue again becomes relevant for the child. With favorable development, children outgrow their conflicting feelings for parents at the final stage of puberty, transforming them into a natural channel of psychological and sexual activity.
Due to the fact that the psycho-emotional sphere of girls and boys functions during the period of phallic development with significant differences, the Oedipus complex is experienced differently by both sexes.
The formation of the personality structure and the orientation of instinctual impulses depend on this phenomenon. Indeed, with age, the child is more inclined to play that sexual role in society, which he succeeded in the phallic period. Parents are the first human sexual models that children encounter for the first time in their life. In the future, it is precisely by their behavior and external signs that the child will begin to distinguish between men and women, and eventually become aware of their gender identity.
The Oedipus complex is a complex internal struggle of a small personality, requiring positive resolution . It is necessary to ensure that at puberty, the problem does not hide in the unconscious part of the brain. An unconsciously worked out problem with the help of adults often erupts in the psyche of a child with nervousness. The correct approach is to complete the puberty of the personality development without acute internal conflicts.
The Oedipus complex has a complex resolution mechanism that requires additional study of psychological problems outside the family relations between the triad mother, father and child. Success depends on the relationship model that each parent has chosen in dialogue with his son or daughter. You should carefully study the situation in which young daughters express a desire to give birth to their fathers a common child. In boys, a sign of this complex may be fantasies about castration of the father, the desire for his death. Such situations in themselves are not a signal of inferiority, a threat, but require a professional psychological correction. After all, relationships within the family can be complicated by the mother's or father's Oedipus complex. The psychological problems of parents that arose in early childhood may remain unresolved for many years.