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<i>Fragmentation</i> describes a [[state ]] of the self that is the opposite of [[cohesion]]. It is a diagnostic [[sign]].</p><p>This [[notion ]] appeared in Heinz Kohut's [[1968 ]] article "The [[Psychoanalytic ]] [[Treatment ]] of [[Narcissistic ]] [[Personality ]] Disorders." A sign of the narcissistic personality, as compared with the [[neuroses]], fragmentation triggers disintegration [[anxiety]], a [[counterpart ]] of [[castration ]] anxiety. The fragmentation corresponding to the auto-[[erotic ]] [[stage ]] is [[total ]] in [[psychosis]], in contrast to the narcissistic personality, in which the self is cohesive. In [[narcissism]], transient fragmentation is seen during [[analysis ]] and during certain periods when the self is vulnerable, such as adolescence.</p><p>This notion was developed throughout Kohut's [[work]], becoming one of the four fundamental [[concepts ]] of self [[psychology ]] set forth in "Remarks [[about ]] the [[Formation ]] of the Self" (1974). To Kohut, narcissistic [[pathology ]] tends to be progressively reduced to variations in the state of the self, which is fragmented at the [[preoedipal ]] and [[oedipal ]] levels. Fragmentation of the self triggers an intensification of the [[drives]], which are redefined as products of the disintegration of the self in the service of its restoration.</p><p>Fluctuations in the state of the self are important [[clinical ]] data for diagnosis and treatment, but the drives become secondary to the self.</p>