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The role of Chinese names in identity formation: a primer for psychoanalysts and psychotherapists

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 August 2013

Ronald Teague
Ronald Teague*
Affiliation:
California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University Sacramento
*
address for correspondence: Ronald Teague, Clinical PsyD Program, California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University, 2030 West El Camino Ave. Suite 200, Sacramento, CA 95833. Email: rteague@alliant.edu
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Abstract

There have been many important psychoanalytic studies on the importance of names on the development of identity. None of these studies, however, have specifically examined Chinese names and their effect on development of identity in Chinese patients. Chinese names differ in many important ways from names used in Western cultures. This paper provides a basic description of the nature, structure and meaning of Chinese names and suggests ways that these names help form a sense of identity in the Chinese.

Keywords

Chinese namestranscultural psychologyidentitycross-culturalChinapsychoanalysis
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Tropical Psychology , Volume 3 , 2013 , e3
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Australian Academic Press Pty Ltd 2013 

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