In Monday’s (05/08/06) Focus On The Family broadcast Dobson throws out a new term not even Google has a clinical definition for called “detachment and differentiation.” This supposedly describes the process by which a young boy separates from the mother and bonds with the father around ages 2-3. Dobson says homosexuality is “very typically rooted in the failure to accomplish that differentiation.” Dobson proceeds to tell listeners and a studio gallery full of Focus Institute students he remembers that pivotal moment at age 2-3 which led to formation of his heterosexuality.

Of course I have a full transcript and audio:

This is fairly new information that’s being discussed in the child development clinics and in the universities throughout the country and around the world, and it is called “detachment and differentiation.” In other words, a boy detaches from his mother and then begins to accept the role model that he sees in the father. The father really needs to entice the boy away from the feminine characteristics in the mother and begin to teach him to identify with the masculine model.

Now folks, listen to me, it is now believed that homosexuality is very typically rooted in the failure to accomplish that differentiation and when you see individuals who are very very feminine and you go back and you look at the early childhood development characteristics you will see a failure to make that change.

I’ve been very blessed from the early days with a memory of my childhood. I don’t know how to explain that except that I have many memories from the second year and hundreds of memories from the third year and fourth year and so on and I can tell you all kinds of stories of things that took place at two and three and four. Our daughter is the same way, she has that same kind of memory. Would you believe that I recall that change taking place? Now I couldn’t have used these words and I didn’t understand, but I knew that I was pulling back from my mother and toward my father between two and three years of age.

[Download MP3 of Segment]

I was curious about this “detachment and differentiation” Dobson claims is all the rage in child development clinics and “universities throughout the country and around the world.” The only clinical articles found by Google on “detachment and differentiation” are about the detachment and differentiation of urinary bladder cells. Even a search of Focus On The Family’s website turns up absolutly nothing.

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