an obsolete name for a condition, occurring in children between the ages of 2 and 5, that is characterized by complete emotional dependence on the mother, inability to tolerate separation from her, reactions of anger and panic if any separation is threatened, and developmental lag. Some of these features are characteristic of separation anxiety disorder. Also called symbiotic infantile psychosis; symbiotic infantile psychotic syndrome. [first described by Hungarian-born U.S. child psychoanalyst Margaret Schönberger Mahler (1897–1985)]