Fixation

In psychoanalytic theory, the process by which an individual becomes or remains emotionally attached to real or imagined objects or events during early childhood. If the fixations are powerful, resulting from traumatic events, they can lead to immature and inappropriate behaviour. Regression to these events is regarded by some analysts as the basis of certain emotional disorders. Fixation also describes the alignment and stabilization of fractured bones. Fixation may be external, as with a plaster cast, or internal, using pins, plates, or nails introduced surgically.