Article

This study of the diagnosis, ego functions and degree of affective deficiency in the encopretic child shows that although the problem remains complex these children can be subdivided into two main categories: neurotics and those suffering from ego disorders. The neurological and intellectual equipment of the latter group is below that of the neurotic children, and they show a marked tendency to an exaggerated or deficient motor control. Family troubles also contribute to the condition which in the case of these children appears to be due to developmental arrest, evident also in other areas. As to neurotics, the study of their dynamics reveals depressive elements related to separation or threatened separation. The traumatic aspect is often more symbolic than real. Repressed aggressivity appears as an important feature of this category of encopretic children. Ego-disturbed children present significantly higher indications of affective deficiency, especially due to family environment. It seems that this factor of affective deficiency overlaps diagnostic categories and in some cases appears to be related to serious marital problems of the parents. This study does not show why such children have ‘chosen’ to become encopretic. It only gives some indications as to the type of family environment where the symptom develops, and identifies certain precipitating conditions. It also appears that the majority of parents will tolerate such a condition for a long time without seeking advice. This confirms the importance of family environment in the development of the symptom, and indicates that further research should concentrate on the study of original mother-child relationships, inasmuch as they influence sphincter control, and also on the whole family network, which seems to be frequently implicated in the child's symptomatology.