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The cathexis of the object-choice in the child and adolescent is presented in this article in relation to the substance of the narcissistic and object-related cathexis of the link with the object as well as the different forms that it assumes in the course of psychic construction. The vicissitudes of these cathexes are discussed in relation to the cathexis of the motor image, the first identificatory movements which, along with imitation, constitute the first moorings of identification and object-choices. Two clinical vignettes illustrate the nature of these drive assemblages and their links with the relationship to the object.