Childhood maltreatment and malevolence: quantitative research findings.

This article examines the quantitative research literature that focuses on the object relations sequelae of childhood maltreatment. A review of 12 studies indicates strong support for a relationship between childhood maltreatment and a malevolent object world. This relationship holds despite variations in methodology across studies, including differences in sampling and measurement techniques. This paper defines the construct of malevolence, and proposes that malevolent representations are a central feature of the experience of childhood maltreatment. Implications for diagnosis and treatment are considered, and directions for future research are outlined.

Childhood physical abuse, personality, and adult relationship violence: a model of vulnerability to victimization.

An association between childhood physical abuse and current relationship violence was observed in a sample of 56 young adult women, suggesting that childhood physical abuse may be a unique risk factor for victimization in intimate adult relationships. Aspects of personality and interpersonal functioning that reflect extreme doubt about one's interpretation and understanding of interpersonal events, and an inability to make sensible causal connections between people's thoughts, feelings, and actions largely mediated this link. Implications for intervention and directions for future research are discussed.

TAT assessment of object relations: implications for child abuse.

Several recent empirical studies have documented impaired object relations in victims of childhood maltreatment. The consistency of these findings, despite sampling and other methodological differences, highlights the applicability of object relations theory to the study of abuse sequelae. This article illustrates the use of the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scales (SCORS) in the clinical assessment of maltreated children by applying it to selected Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) stories of a sexually abused girl, a physically abused girl, and a distressed but nonabused peer. Diagnostic and treatment implications are discussed.

Manifestations of bodily concern in sexually abused girls.

Rorschach Inkblot Test (Rorschach, 1921/1942) records of clinical samples of sexually abused and nonabused but distressed girls were examined with respect to selected contents hypothesized to reflect aspects of bodily concern. Consistent with core psychoanalytic assumptions regarding the salience of bodily based experiences on personality development, it was proposed that sexually abused participants would produce significantly different frequencies of Rorschach contents indicative of bodily concern than their nonabused counterparts. Results revealed significant group differences on the barrier scale of the Barrier and Penetration Scoring System (Fisher & Cleveland, 1968), with sexually abused girls scoring significantly lower than nonabused girls (p < .003). No reliable group differences emerged with respect to penetration scores, or any of the Comprehensive System (Exner, 1993) variables under study. Clinical implications are discussed.

Object relations of sexually and physically abused female children: a TAT analysis.

Selected Thematic Apperception Test (Murray, 1943) stories of 17 sexually abused, 15 physically abused, and 15 nonabused but distressed clinical comparison subjects were analyzed using the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scales (Westen, Lohr, Silk, Kerber, & Goodrich, 1985). Results revealed significant differences in overall object relations between the abused and nonabused children both on mean scores, reflecting lower levels of typical functioning, and on frequency of Level 1 scores, indicating a propensity for more grossly pathological functioning. Further comparisons between sexual and physical abuse victims revealed differential impairments in the capacity to invest in relationships and moral standards. Diagnostic and theoretical implications are discussed.

TAT assessment of sexually abused girls: an analysis of manifest content.

Manifest content of Thematic Apperception Test (TAT; Murray, 1943) stories of 30 sexually abused female children and a clinical group of 30 female children with no documented history of abuse was examined using the Scoring Scheme for the TAT and Other Verbal Projective Techniques (Fine, 1955a). The two groups were similar demographically, and did not differ with regard to the overall frequency of negative feelings and outcomes. Significant group differences were found when specific negative feelings were investigated, with subjects in the abuse group having higher frequencies of stated sexual preoccupation than nonabused comparison subjects. In addition, higher frequencies of expressed guilt on the part of abuse subjects can be considered secondary to their overconcern with sexuality. Findings support the utility of the TAT in identifying victims of sexual abuse by the examination of manifest content.

Object relations and physical abuse: a TAT analysis.

Selected Thematic Apperception Test (Murray, 1943) stories of 39 physically abused children and a clinical group of 39 children with no recorded history of abuse were examined using the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scales (Westen, Lohr, Silk, Kerber, & Goodrich, 1985). As predicted, a history of physical abuse was associated with a more malevolent object world; a lower level capacity for emotional investment in relations and moral standards; and less accurate, complex, and logical attributions of causality in understanding human interaction. These impairments in object relations were manifest both as a typical level of functioning and as a propensity for more grossly pathological functioning. Results are discussed in terms of clinical and theoretical implications.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) Hysteria (Hy) scale: scoring bodily concern and psychological denial subscales in chronic back pain patients.

Chronic back pain patients were compared to two nonpain comparison groups on Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) Hysteria (Hy) scores and scores on two Hy subscales: Bodily Concern and Psychological Denial. Pain subjects had significantly higher scores on the Bodily Concern Subscale and lower scores on the Psychological Denial Subscale than nonpain subjects with similar elevated Hy scores. However, pain subjects had Psychological Denial scores similar to those of subjects with normal MMPI profiles, despite significantly higher Hy scores. These findings are interpreted to support the hypothesis that, among pain patients, Hy elevations are partially accounted for by the endorsement of a disproportionate number of Bodily Concern items. Finally, within pain patients, scores on the Bodily Concern subscale were significantly related to more indices of pain duration and severity than were scores on the Psychological Denial subscale. The potential clinical utility of scoring these subscales is discussed.

Feigning specific disorders: a study of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI).

The Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991) represents an important development in the assessment of psychopathology. We examined the usefulness of the Negative Impression (NIM) scale to detect naive (undergraduates with minimal preparation) and sophisticated (psychology graduate students with 1 week preparation) subjects simulating specific disorders. We found that the NIM cutting score (> 8) was highly effective with feigned schizophrenia, marginally effective with feigned depression, and ineffective with feigned generalized anxiety disorder. Sophistication did not appear to be relevant to successful feigning, although it did allow graduate students to achieve higher clinical elevations in simulating depression.

Rorschach assessment of malevolence in sexually abused girls.

Clinical samples of sexually abused and nonabused girls were compared on COP/AG, a proposed Rorschach index of malevolence. Defined as the co-occurrence of COP and AG in a single response, this variable is introduced as a Rorschach analog of a measure of malevolence devised for use with narrative material. Sexually abused girls scored significantly higher on COP/AG than did nonabused girls (p < .01), with no group differences emerging for either COP or AG alone. These findings provide empirical support for the salience of malevolence in the interpersonal perceptions and expectancies of victims of childhood sexual abuse. Clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed.

Object relations of sexually abused female subjects: a TAT analysis.

TAT stories of 17 sexually abused female subjects and a clinical group of 25 female subjects with no documented history of sexual abuse were analyzed using the Object Relations and Social Cognition Scoring System (Western, Lohr, Silk, Kerber, & Goodrich, 1985). Subjects ranged in age from 5 to 16 years. As predicted, mean scores on a measure of overall object relations were significantly different between groups. Specifically, the mental representations of subjects in the abuse group were characterized by more primitive and simple characterizations of people, more negative and punitive affect in their perceptions of the interpersonal world, an inability to invest in people and relationships in other than need-gratifying ways, and an inability to make sensible attributions of self and others. Abuse subjects also produced more pathological responses overall than did their nonabuse counterparts, indicating a tendency toward more extreme and immature functioning. These group differences were independent of any contribution of age and a measure of verbal productivity. Treatment and diagnostic implications are discussed.

Psychophysiological characteristics of narcissism during active and passive coping.

This study provides the first psychophysiological analysis of narcissism by measuring autonomic responses during active and passive anticipatory coping in 40 undergraduate men who scored high or low on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI). Compared to the low NPI group, the high NPI group showed greater preejection period (PEP) shortening, cardiac deceleration, and skin conductance response (SCR) habituation during anticipation of an aversive stimulus (p < .02). As expected, SCR and PEP reactivity were greater during active than passive coping. In the case of PEP, this effect emerged only in the low NPI group; the high NPI group showed the greatest PEP reactivity during the first task, regardless of coping demands. These data support hypothesized relationships among narcissism, psychopathy, and psychological predictors of cardiovascular disease, and suggest that a psychobiological dimension may underlie important features of narcissism.