Am J Psychiatry 1977; 134:429-431
Copyright © 1977 by American Psychiatric Association
Fatherhood and emotional illness
JO Cavenar Jr and NT Butts
The authors describe four cases in which men developed emotional illnesses
related to their wives' pregnancies. In all of the cases, the patients had
experienced sibling rivalry at a significant time in their lives. This
factor seemed to be more important dynamically in understanding their
feelings about fatherhood than previously proposed factors, such as envy of
the wife's childbearing capacity, dependence on the wife, and neurotic
conflict with the oedipal father. The authors suggest that in men with
neuroses, the issue of sibling rivalry is an important determinant of
reactions to fatherhood.
