Consistency in Interpersonal Themes in Narratives About Relationships

Abstract

The current study investigates the hypothesis that psychiatric patients display consistent interpersonal themes in narratives across different important interpersonal relationships. In response to a revised Relationship Anecdote Paradigm interview, 93 patients with a diagnosable disorder, based on Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (third edition, revised) criteria, were asked to give 5 narratives about each of the following significant people in their lives: mother, father, same-sex best friend, and romantic partner. From the transcribed interview material, independent judges reliably rated the intensity of wishes, responses of others, and responses from self associated with a modified Core Conflictual Relationship Theme (CCRT) method (Luborsky & Crits-Christoph, 1990). Consistency of specific relational themes was assessed across multiple interactions with the same person and across different relationships. Although only 1% to 3% of the variance was explained by an individual's consistency, there was substantial variability in specific interpersonal themes across narratives, both across and within relationships (explaining 27% to 30% of the variance). The discussion addresses methodological issues that may have contributed to the current findings and the implications of these findings for the CCRT method, psychodynamic theory and practice in general, and the psychodynamic concept of transference in particular.