Object Relations and Core Conflictual Relationship Theme in Patients With Major Depression and Normal Individuals

Objective: The present study aims to evaluate the object relations and core conflictual relationship theme in depressed patients while comparing them with normal individuals. Methods: Thirty people with major depressive disorder and thirty normal individuals were selected using the convenience sampling method via structured clinical interviews (SCID-I & SCID-II) and the psychiatric symptoms checklist (SCL-90-R) based on inclusion and exclusion criteria. Bell Object Relations Inventory (BORI) and Central Relationship Questionnaire (CRQ) were used to investigate the study variables. The data were analyzed by multivariate variance analysis. Results: The multivariate analysis of variance showed a significant difference between the depressed and the normal groups in the four subscales of object relationships (egocentricity, insecure attachment, social incompetence, and alienation). Findings of the Central Relationship Questionnaire (CRQ) indicate that depressed patients in all three components of wishes (higher tendency toward aggression and reluctance to intimacy), the response from the other (RO) (perception of significant others being annoying and not receiving love from them) and the Response of Self (RS) (distance and a lack of sense of independence and success) had a significant difference and a higher mean compared to the normal group. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicated that the style of object relationships and some core conflictual relationship themes in depressed patients is pathological, and these patients can be treated by identifying these styles and themes in therapeutic interventions.