Page - 193 - in Psychoanalytic Perspectives on Puberty and Adolescence - The Inner Worlds of Teenagers and their Parents

Lost by the wayside – overstepping limits 193 can accept her mother’s and father’s help – not only financial aid but also support in caring for the baby. Babsi sleeps with her daughter in her former bedroom. On the one hand, she suffers from the family discussion of her, but on the other hand, it would be even more difficult for Babsi to go out without her mother as babysit- ter. Babsi’s enthusiasm over her baby daughter’s new abilities and characteristics, as well as the concerns she expresses at their visit to the pediatrician, point to a “good -enough” mother -child relationship. The apartment promised by Markus’ father never materialized. We can assume that Babsi’s outer situation corresponds to her inner world: she still requires the protection of her parents, has dropped out of school and is preparing for the final exam at home. Her relationship to Markus is more difficult than not; presently they see each other only on weekends, since Markus has now taken a job. Babsi talks of a “relationship crisis”, which leads one to doubt whether their relationship can bear these burdens. In the interview, she says how happy she is to be able to talk about all these concerns, since she has few friends. Case study: Claudia4 Claudia is 17 and is in her eighth year at secondary school at the time of this inter- view. In May, she has her final exam there, and her daughter Moni is eight months old. Claudia’s father is an engineer; her mother is a housewife and currently also a university student. Claudia has married 19 -year -old Tom, the father of her child. The three of them are living in a small modern apartment. Tom is currently doing his military service and is also present during the interview. Sexuality in Claudia’s family The topics of sexuality and sex education were not addressed in Claudia’s family. When she had Tom as a boyfriend, “My parents said, ‘Yeah, well, you know’. I was, like, ‘Yeah, yeah’. And they were, like, ‘It won’t be happening’” (Pankratz 1997, 102). For Claudia’s parents, this ended the conversation, and Claudia remained alone and unsure. Apparently, her parents were too inhibited to talk about sexuality but were then upset at her pregnancy. Claudia did not have the chance to learn the specifics of birth control. Claudia’s first menstruation It sort of announced itself before. I mean, I didn’t menstruate all of a sudden. Before, I had a slight smear of blood . . . and my mother said, ‘Watch out, it will be coming soon’. And it did. It was certainly annoying (she laughs). (Pankratz 1997, 102)