Impact of Treatment on God Image and Personal Adjustment, and Correlations of God Image to Personal Adjustment and Object Relations Development

Abstract

This study examined the effectiveness of a religiously-based, object relations oriented psychotherapy treatment program. Effectiveness was measured by changes in personal adjustment and God image for a group of religious patients. An inpatient sample (N = 99), with the predominant diagnosis of major depression, was followed over the course of inpatient treatment and a year of outpatient treatment following hospitalization. Measures were administered at admission and discharge (N = 99), six months after discharge (n = 67), and 12 months after discharge (n = 30). The correlation of God image to object relations development was also examined. Inpatient treatment was found to have a significant positive impact on personal adjustment and God image. Improvement was maintained over the course of outpatient treatment but no significant further improvement was noted. Significant correlations were found among the measures at all four time points. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.