%0 Journal Article
%T Object relations in adolescence: A comparison of normal and inpatient adolescents
%J Psychiatry and the Clinical Neurosciences
%D 2012
%A Sekiya, Hideko
%A Sato, Atsushi
%A Sakai, Yoshie
%A Naka, Yasushi
%A Suzuki, Keiko
%A Kashima, Haruo
%A Mimura, Masaru
%V 66
%N 4
%P 270-275
%X 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.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
%G en
%I John Wiley and Sons
%@ 1323-1316
%U http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1440-1819.2012.02353.x