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on the establishment of realistic representations of Self and object, on a decrease in the rigidity of the Oedipal super-ego, on an increase of influence from the ego ideal and on the achievement of an adequate sexual identity. Blos describes adolescence through different sub-phases: – preadolescence: in which we witness the moment of greatest quantitative increase of the instinctual pressure and the reactivation of pregenital drives; – early adolescence: characterized by genital primacy and rejection of internal parenting objects; – late adolescence, phase of consolidation of the functions and interests of the ego and of the structuring of the representation of the self; – post-adolescence, during which the task of the reshaping of the personality must end and be completed. Although Blos does not study in depth the distinction between Self and Ego, his model has been used as a cue for some authors who, starting from the issue of individuation, have deepened the distinction between Ego and Self in the development of the adolescent. Arnaldo Novelletto (2009) explored the concept of the Self with particular reference to its implications for the understanding of adolescent development. Within the “Ego-Self system” Novelletto distinguishes two distinct functional areas, the Ego proper and the Self. The Ego remains the instance for the function of perception, of the judgment of reality, of thought and of access to the function /psychic dimension of the will, of the defensive mechanisms and of the control of the anguish. The Self, on the other hand, provides for the storage and updating of physical and psychical representations of self, the awareness of the processes of change, the elaboration of mourning linked to separations, internal and external, the formation of character, self-preservation, the rebalancing of narcissistic charges towards object realities and mood homeostasis. In adolescence the Ego-Self system is grappling with the other two constituent instances of the psychic apparatus, the id and the super-ego within a complex transformative process that will lead to a profound reworking of the representation that the subject has of his own identity, of internal object relations, of the integration of his instincts and of the orientation of his drives. Novelletto attributes to the Self an observer function towards other psychic instances, which will allow the individual to develop self- reflection. This is important for the investment in some objects that perform a function similar to transitional objects of early childhood, e g personal diaries, overlapping private space and common space; these personal diaries confirm the nascent intimacy of the Self, but at the same time evidence the adolescent’s need to prolong the symbiotic community with parents. Another central theme is the integration of physical puberty changes in the body image and the reshaping of the image of the Self. A splitting is particularly evident between the part of the Self that tends to evolve and grow, mainly through action, and the one that tends to regress mainly through fantasy. This splitting within the system is inevitable. Another theme is the reworking and the reconstitution of the ego-ideal and the use of the peer group as a source of narcissistic and identity recharging.
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