I seem to recall our discussing this on the old board, but if not:

I have researched the term “issue” enough to understand its Latin and PIE origin, and how the sense of “flow out” “discharge” came to mean so many things, from “progeny” to being “issued helmet and cartridge belt.”

I am wondering when “issue” took on its psychological sense. Specifically, did the psychology term, e.g., “issues with parents” “issues with conflict” come from the meaning of issue as “matter under discussion”, or did psychologists use take it from the medical sense of a “discharge” but apply it to the subconscious?

If the latter, it really is a wonderfully descriptive metaphor, so I hope that’s the answer.

(Be careful:  I have issues with disappointment; however, I won’t make an issue out it.)

The OED has:

Draft additions June 2003

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In pl. orig. and chiefly U.S. Emotional or psychological difficulties (freq. with modifying word); points of emotional conflict.

1982 N.Y. Times 8 Dec. c10/6 The more difficult aspect can come after alcohol is removed. Then it becomes how do you deal with the emotions and intimacy issues that were largely dealt with previously through alcohol?
1991 Longevity Jan. 70/1 At the root of anniversary syndrome‥are unresolved issues about the loved one stemming from the past.
1998 Community Care 20 Aug. 46/5 (advt.) Educational programme and 24-hour placement support for emotionally damaged children and young people. Reparative work with attachment issues.

This is a good one. The OED is rather opaque on Reb. Wlm’s specific question, but the general semantic development is fascinating. I’ll have to write this one up in full for the Big List, but in short it goes:

produce, proceeds, early 14c. > outcome, consequence, result of a decision, late 14c. > point of decision making, 16c. > matter to be decided, 19c.

Dave,

I, too, felt the OED was opaque about the word in the sense to which I am referring. In addition, I seem to recall people “having issues with (psychological factor) “ as opposed to “discussing an issue”, as early as the late 1960’s.  I’ll dig out from my genizah some pop psych books from that era and see what I come up with.