Convergent validity of Rorschach and TAT scales of object relations

Emotion regulation in adolescents: Influences of internal representations of relationships - An ERP study

Emotion regulation (ER) strategies can decrease the intensity or modify the experience of emotions. Deficits in emotion regulation are implicated in a wide range of psychopathologies. It is argued that interpersonal, socio-cognitive, and developmental variables play an important role in ER. This is the first study to explore the contribution of individual differences in internal representations of relationships (IRR) to neural correlates of ER in a sample of adolescents. Event related potentials of 53 adolescents (12 to 17 years old) were collected while performing an ER task. IRR was assessed with the social cognition and object relations scale (SCORS-G; Westen, 1995) coding of narratives from interviews. Results show that individual differences in IRR significantly predicted the modulation of emotional responses by expressive suppression in adolescents, accounting for 48% of the variance of changes in occipital late positive potentials (LPP). Thus, it appears that IRR are implicated in an individual's ability to regulate emotions. The clinical implications of the findings are discussed.

The relationship between prototype ratings of personality and self and interpersonal functioning with an adolescent inpatient sample

Personality pathology is conceptualized, in part, as impairments in self and interpersonal functioning. Although most of the research has focused on adult samples, fewer have looked at this relationship in adolescent samples. This paper investigates the relationship between clinician-rated personality prototypes, the Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure-Prototype Matching Adolescent Version (SWAP-A-P) derived from the SWAP-II-A, and a measure of self and interpersonal functioning, the Social Cognition and Object Relation Scale-Global Rating (SCORS-G). Clinicians rated 66 adolescents hospitalized at a safety net teaching hospital in the northeast. The patient's individual and group therapist rated the patients at discharge using the SWAP-A-P and the SCORS-G at discharge blind to each other's ratings. Results showed that more severe personality pathology was linked with more impairments in self and interpersonal functioning.

SCORS-G and Card Pull Effect of TAT Stories: A Study With a Nonclinical Sample of Children

Previous research has shown that stimulus pull is one of the contributory factors influencing Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) responses. In recent years, there has been a resurgence of studies examining this. In particular, the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale-Global Rating Method (SCORS-G) has been employed to examine stimulus pull in adult clinical and nonclinical samples. The present study is the first attempt to examine this issue in a nonclinical sample of children. Ninety-eight children from Italian elementary (1st to 5th grade) and middle (6th to 8th grade) schools provided narratives to six TAT cards (1, 2, 3BM, 4, 8BM, and 16). Some important findings with regard to variance within scales replicate prior findings from other studies. Furthermore, some findings regarding the specific nature of pull for particular TAT cards (1, 2, 3BM, and 4) replicate prior work. Given that Cards 8BM and 16's SCORS-G stimulus properties have not been previously studied, the pull of these cards is explored. Last, SCORS-G differences/similarities across these two age groups are highlighted. Suggestions for further research in this field are also provided, particularly concerning the use of SCORS-G and TAT for clinical assessment.

Father-daughter relationship and the severity of eating disorders

BACKGROUND

Mother-daughter relationship was the focus of studies on the development of eating disorders (ED) for many years. This study aimed to examine the association between the father-daughter relationship and ED and depressive symptoms.

METHODS

Fifty-three women diagnosed with ED were compared to a psychiatric control group (n=26) and to healthy participants (n=60) regarding their perception of their fathers and the relationship with them. Assessments were done using the Parental Bonding Instrument, the Eating Disorders Questionnaire, the Body Shape Questionnaire, the Eating Attitude Test, and the Beck Depression Inventory as well as narrative-based methods.

RESULTS

Fathers' negative attributes were significantly associated with ED and depressive symptom. Two profiles of father-daughter relationship were found, the "caring and benevolent" relationship and the "overprotective and avoidant" one. In the latter, patients displayed significantly higher levels of food-restraint, more concerns about eating and about their body shape and appearance, and higher levels of depression.

DISCUSSION

Negative perception of the father's parenting style as well as the quality of the relationship with him are crucial for the understanding of the development and persistence of ED. Therapeutic programs for ED should focus not only on the relationship with the mother but must also address the relationship with the father.

An examination of the construct validity of the Rorschach Mutuality of Autonomy (MOA) Scale

Using 100 clinical cases, we examined the construct validity of the Mutuality of Autonomy (MOA) Scale (Urist, 1977) using Westen and Rosenthal's (2003) r(contrast - construct validity (CV)) procedure for quantifying a pattern of convergent-discriminant relationships between a target measure and a set of criterion variables. Our 15 criterion variables included the Comprehensive System (CS; Exner, 2003) variables, a CS-based measure of ego strength (Resnick, 1994), and 3 subscales from the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale (Westen, Lohr, Silk, Kerber, & Goodrich, 1990). We generated the r(contrast - CV) coefficients to test 2 competing hypotheses: that the MOA Scale primarily measures object relations (OR) quality or that it primarily measures psychopathology. Results suggest that the MOA Scale is an equally potent measure of OR and psychopathology regardless of the MOA Scale index used.

Validation of a theory-driven profile interpretation of the Dutch short form of the MMPI using the TAT Social Cognitions and Object Relations Scale (SCORS)

In this study, we investigated the construct validity of the theory-driven profile interpretation of the Dutch Short Form of the MMPI (DSFM; Luteijn & Kok, 1985), an interpretation method aimed at assessing structural features of personality based on Kernberg and Caligor's (2005) views concerning personality organization. We utilized the four dimensions of the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale (SCORS; Westen, Lohr, Silk, Gold, & Kerber, 1990) as external criteria. Results showed that, congruent with theoretical expectations, the DSFM profiles predicted structural features of personality functioning, especially identity diffusion as measured by the SCORS, after adjustment for the effect of the single scales used to construct the profiles. These findings provide further support for the construct validity of the DSFM profiles to measure structural features of personality organization. We discuss directions for future research and clinical implications.

Validity of DSM-IV axis V global assessment of relational functioning scale: a multimethod assessment

We investigate the convergent validity of the DSM-IV Axis V Global Assessment of Relational Functioning Scale (GARF; American Psychiatric Association, 1994). This study included 79 patients at a university-based outpatient treatment clinic. We examined clinician-rated GARF and the relationship to self-reported (Inventory of Interpersonal Problems; IIP-C; Horowitz et al. 2000) and free response themes [Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale: SCORS; Hilsenroth, Stein & Pinsker, 2004; Westen, 1995] of interpersonal functioning. Clinician ratings of the GARF scale and SCORS variables were highly reliable and internally consistent. Convergent Validity among the GARF, SCORS, and IIP scores was calculated using a Principal Components Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Results of the Principal Components Analysis revealed that the GARF, SCORS, and IIP scores converged on a single factor, although findings of the CFA did not fully confirm the 1 factor model originally proposed. Intercorrelations among the GARF, SCORS, and IIP variables were analyzed and a pattern of significant relationships was found between the GARF and SCORS variables. This study helps support the convergent validity GARF as a relational functioning measure and is one of the first investigations to examine this scale multidimensionally.

Performance-Based Assessment in Schools

This article addresses a 2006 article by Hojnoski, Morrison, Brown, and Matthews on the use of performance-based measurement among school-based practitioners. Their results suggest that many of their survey respondents favor the use of this form of measurement. This line of research is important and addresses an important issue in current clinical practice. However, they offer a critique of this form of assessment, in response to which the author raises four issues. First, there is a difference between tests and techniques. Second, assessment tools do not make decisions or diagnoses; clinicians do. Third, actuarial prediction and clinical expertise are mutually enhancing. Last, the relationship between science and practice should be bidirectional and integrative. These points are discussed in terms of the utility and appropriateness of performance-based measurement tools and techniques for helping psychologists answer diagnostic, placement, and treatment questions in the school setting.

A cientificidade das técnicas projetivas em debate

O objetivo deste trabalho é rever uma série especial de artigos antagônicos sobre a validade e o status científico dos métodos projetivos, uma vez que o foco dos debates atuais recai novamente sobre o mérito das técnicas projetivas em contraposição às objetivas, principalmente no que diz respeito ao pouco rigor metodológico nos estudos de validação e ausência de validade incremental, o que, conseqüentemente, repercute na credibilidade dos profissionais e pesquisadores que as utilizam. Neste artigo, dá-se destaque ao que há de procedente em tais discussões, bem como nas distorções ou falácias geradas nesta última década sobre os três procedimentos mais utilizados para avaliação da personalidade, no Brasil e exterior: o Método de Rorschach no Sistema Compreensivo, RCS; o Teste de Apercepção Temática, TAT e o Desenho da Figura Humana, DFH. Os referenciais apresentados sobre a utilidade clínica e diagnóstica desses instrumentos mostram-se igualmente úteis na ponderação de estudos e na discussão de questões relativas às técnicas projetivas de modo geral.

Personality and Symptom Change in Treatment-Refractory Inpatients: Evaluation of the Phase Model of Change Using Rorschach, TAT, and DSM-IV Axis V

In this study, we examined global treatment outcomes during 16 months of intensive, psychodynamic treatment for 77 inpatients suffering from treatment-refractory disorders. Hypotheses based on the phase model of treatment change (Howard, Lueger, Maling, & Martinovich, 1993; Howard, Moras, Brill, Martinovich, & Lutz, 1996) were supported in the study results. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) Axis V scales assessing behavioral functioning demonstrated large and medium effect size change, whereas stable, enduring personality functioning assessed by psychoanalytic Rorschach scales and the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale (Westen, 1995) for the Thematic Apperception Test (Murray, 1943) demonstrated small and medium effect size change. We also report assessment of reliable change index and clinical significance. The ecological validity of Rorschach measures is supported by significant validity coefficients (in the hypothesized directions) between implicit measures of personality functioning and behavioral ratings.

Children's internal representations, empathy, and fantasy play: a validity study of the SCORS-Q

The authors investigated relationships among internal representations, empathy, and affective and cognitive processes in fantasy play to test the validity of the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale Q-Sort (SCORS-Q; D. Westen, 1995) with children. Eighty-six 8-10-year-olds were administered 8 Thematic Apperception Test cards, a standardized play task, and a self-report empathy measure. Teachers rated children's empathy and helpfulness. As predicted, internal representations were related to empathy, helpfulness, and quality of fantasy play. Developmental differences on the SCORS-Q were consistent with object relations theory and with results from the original SCORS. The findings support the value of internal representations as a means of understanding children's interpersonal functioning and contribute to the validity of the SCORS-Q for use with children.