Object relations in adolescence: A comparison of normal and inpatient adolescents

Aims: We aimed to study the development of object relations in adolescents and their correlation with their mothers' defense styles in inpatient and normal adolescents. Methods: We administered the Thematic Apperception Test to adolescents in the adolescent unit (junior high, n = 16; senior high, n = 22) and normal controls (junior high, n = 16; senior high, n = 16). Results were analyzed using the Complexity of Representations Scale (CRS). We administered the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ ₄₀) to the subjects' mothers (patients, n = 38; controls, n = 32) to determine whether adolescents' CRS scores correlated with mothers' DSQ scores. Results: There was a nearly significant interaction for group-by-school-year for the children's CRS scores. In the control group, senior high school students' scores (mean [SD] = 3.52 [0.49]) were significantly higher (F [1,66] = 12.3, P = 0.001) than those of junior high school students' (mean [SD] = 3.03 [0.31]). In the patient group, no significant difference was observed between senior high and junior high. For mothers' DSQ ₄₀, mature defense scores were significantly higher in the control group than in the patient group (mean [SD] = 10.8 [1.89] vs 9.35 [1.40] in junior high, and 11.8 [1.67] vs 9.36 [1.81] in senior high, F [1,66] = 22.1, P < 0.001, two-way anova). A significant, positive correlation (r = 0.37, P = 0.04) was observed between the mothers' mature defense and the children's CRS scores in the control group only. Conclusions: Whatever diagnoses are provided, the problems of adolescents with non-psychotic pathologies are related to the arrest of object relations development. A patient's mother cannot employ mature mechanisms to alleviate signals of anxiety sent by her child.