Before we get into the main issue, let’s first summarize what the castration complex is. According to Freud, it is a phase of psychic development that occurs in childhood, generally between 5 and 8 years of age, and may vary depending on the child’s psychic development. It is part of the process of libido and personality development, involving conflicts related to fear of loss or punishment, especially in relation to the father.
Main points of the castration complex:
Fear of punishment: The child is afraid that his father may castrate him, that is, deprive him of power or body parts, as a symbol of punishment for desires or behaviors considered inappropriate.
Conflict of authority: The child perceives his father as an authority figure, and the relationship with him involves issues of power, control and fear of loss of security.
Repression of desires: This phase leads the child to repress desires considered forbidden, forming the basis for aspects of emotional and moral development.
Identification impulse: To deal with fear, the child may identify with the father, internalizing values and social rules, important in the formation of the superego.
Freud considered this complex a natural and fundamental phase for psychological development, which shapes the adult personality, especially in the formation of the sense of morality, self-esteem and power dynamics in relationships.
The understanding of Freud’s castration complex in relation to a child with autism, especially at the age of 7 to 8, can be quite different from typical development. In autistic children, the processing of emotional, symbolic and social concepts is often different, often more concrete and less based on the narrative or symbolic understanding that Freud assumes.
For a neurotypical (non-autistic) child, the castration complex is linked to a gradual understanding of gender differences, power and fear of loss or punishment, generally developed throughout psychic development, with greater symbolic understanding in the latency phase (which includes this age).
For a child with autism, this stage of understanding may be more literal, with less access to abstract symbolism or complex emotional interpretations. Thus, he or she will probably not perceive the “castration complex” as Freud describes it, in the symbolic sense of fear of the father, loss of power, or imagined punishment. Instead, he or she may react in more concrete or nuanced ways, perhaps focusing on sensory or routine aspects, with little engagement with the unconscious dimension of the conflict.
In short, what Freud describes as the castration complex is a psychic construction that, in autistic children, occurs (if it occurs at all) in a different way, often in a more literal or superficial way, due to differences in the way of psychic and social processing. It is important to remember that the emotional and psychic development of autistic children is quite heterogeneous, and there is no single answer that applies to everyone.
In summary, the analysis of the castration complex in light of Freud’s theory, especially when considering autism, reveals that psychic experiences and the understanding of symbolic concepts vary significantly between neurotypical and autistic children. While for the former this complex manifests itself through internal conflicts linked to symbolisms of power, fear and punishment, in autistic children, these representations tend to be more concrete and less symbolic, reflecting differences in emotional and social processing.
Thus, understanding psychic development beyond the neurotypical line requires an approach that considers these diversities, recognizing that the ways in which conflict is expressed, or its absence, can be quite distinct, but equally essential for a more inclusive and in-depth understanding of psychic experience.
