Rorschach Assessment Research Articles

Rorschach assessment of annihilation anxiety and ego functioning.

Long Island UniversityThis work illustrates the development, validation, and applica-tion of the Rorschach Content Scale (RCS; Hurvich, Benveniste,Howard, & Coonerty, 1993) for annihilation anxiety. Annihilationanxiety is denned here as the fear of one's impending psychic orphysical destruction. Results reflected adequate RCS interraterreliability, content validity, construct validity, criterion validity, anddivergent validity. Patient groups scored significantly higher onannihilation anxiety measures than did controls. Findings alsodemonstrated that certain aspects of RCS annihilation anxietyappeared more frequently than did others and may be morecentral to the construct. Results supported the contention thatannihilation anxiety is associated with compromised egofunctioning, when both are measured on the Rorschach.The causes and effects of anxiety have held a central place in psychoana-Paul S. Benveniste, PhD, Director of Clinical Operations, Warren-Washington Associa-tion for Mental Health, Hudson Falls, New York; Nicholas Papouchis, PhD, RhiannonAllen, PhD, and Marvin Hurvich, PhD, Department of Psychology, Long Island University.This article is based on the doctoral dissertation of Paul S. Benveniste.Acknowledgment is made to the Release Time Awards Committee, Long IslandUniversity, Brooklyn Center, for several faculty time grants.Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Paul S. Ben-veniste, 526 Maple Avenue, Saratoga Springs, New York 12866. Electronic mail may besent to psbnvniste@aol.com.

Rorschach assessment of annihilation anxiety and ego functioning.

Rorschach assessment of annihilation anxiety and ego functioning.

Current Status of the Rorschach Inkblot Method

The current scientific, clinical, and professional status of the Rorschach Inkblot Method (RIM) is reviewed with respect to its psychometric properties, the applied purposes it can be expected to serve, the extent of its use, and the nature of prevailing attitudes toward it. Available evidence indicates that the RIM is a psychometrically sound measuring instrument that provides valid assessments of personality characteristics and can facilitate differential diagnosis and treatment planning and evaluation. The RIM continues as in the past to be widely used by both clinicians and researchers. However, the esteem in which it is held by practitioners, who are generally agreed that clinical psychologists should be competent in Rorschach assessment, is not universally shared by academicians, many of whom presently question the future place of Rorschach training in graduate education.

Current Perspectives on Psychoanalytic Rorschach Assessment

In this article, I present as clear and as updated an account as possible of several of the essential features that comprise a psychoanalytic approach to the Rorschach. Specific attention is accorded the assessment frame, the language of assessment, sources of assessment information, and differing approaches to the interpretation of Rorschach data. The article comes out of a Rorschach tradition begun by Rapaport, extended by Schafer and Mayman, and presently being updated by Leichtman and Smith.

The Rorschach Assessment of Aggressive and Psychopathic Personalities/The Faces of Violence (Book)

The Rorschach Assessment of Aggressive and Psychopathic Personalities/The Faces of Violence (Book)

Use of the Rorschach in planning psychotherapy.

Research has shown that the Rorshach can be used to identify people who benefit from psychotherapy; the critical variable in that assessment is form level. One way of looking at form level is as a reflection of ego strength, and one can conclude that the level of ego strength and all of the implications regarding information-processing, meaning-making, and the capacity for logical and realistic thinking would, then, seem to be associated with benefiting from psychotherapy. This finding was extended to suggest that this Rorschach assessment of ego strength is related to the kind of psychotherapy a person might or should be offered; that is, whether it should be supportive or exploratory or short-term and problem-centered. Rorschach data can also be helpful in identifying whether treatment-disruptive transferential reactions or resistances exist. In light of the information which can be gleaned from the Rorschach, it seems reasonable to suggest that the Rorschach should be used routinely in the planning of psychotherapy.

Rorschach assessment of the borderline child

After nearly two decades of intensive investigation, adult borderline disorders have achieved wide currency, including a substantial psychological literature. The literature on the diagnostic psychological assessment of borderline children is, in contrast, quite sparse. This paper examines manifestations of childhood borderline conditions on the Rorschach, discusses them in light of current theoretical conceptualizations of adult borderline psychopathology, and explores the relationship between child and adult borderline disorders and the genesis of these conditions.

The Rorschach Assessment of Sexually Abused Children in Residential Treatment

It is generally agreed that there is an urgent need for continued research the area of assessment techniques related to the evaluation of the psychological functioning of sexually abused youth. This research note first reviews the conclusions of recent studies of the Rorschach assessment of sexually abused children. Second, it describes an ongoing replication study of the use of the Rorschach for assessing the psychological functioning of a small group of sexually abused children in residential treatment Psychological functioning in six areas is examined: cognitive functioning, coping or stress tolerance, affective functioning, interpersonal relations, sexual/bodily concerns, and level of object representation. Findings demonstrate broad-based impairments in those areas of functioning and seem to support conclusions from previous Rorschach studies of sexually abused children.

The Rorschach Search for the Borderline Holy Grail: An Examination of Personality Structure, Personality Style, and Situation

Much of the research on the use of the Rorschach to diagnose borderline disturbance has sought to discover a specific borderline pattern or Rorschach configuration. Given our increased understanding of borderline functioning representing a level of personality organization (or personality structure), this single pattern approach is excessively simplistic. It fails to consider the complex interaction between personality structure, personality style, and situational variables. An approach to the Rorschach assessment of borderline functioning is presented using a clinical example. The patient was tested at the onset of psychotherapy and then some 4 years into treatment. Results from the two testings were compared using Weiner and Exner's (1991) Rorschach variable clusters for assessing change in psychotherapy.

On the Rorschach M Response and Monotheism

The Rorschach human movement (M) response has recently been debated (Exner, 1991a, Kramer, 1991a, 1991b) with additional wider implications for Rorschach psychology. The objective of this discourse is twofold: (a) to elaborate on the contributions of perceptanalysis (Piotrowski, 1957) to this debate and (b) to develop the thesis that diversity is desirable for the long-term advancement of the field of Rorschach psychology and personality assessment. These motifs are illustrated with an interpretation of a clinical case example and with rationale from the theoretical literature and implications for interpreting short Rorschach protocols. The conclusion is proffered that some degree of diversification is more beneficial than requiring the adoption of a single Rorschach approach (i.e., monotheism).

Rorschach Assessment of Purging and Nonpurging Bulimics

Research in bulimia has flourished in recent years, and yet minimal attention has been devoted to explorations of the bulimic's basic personality organization. We utilized the Rorschach to differentiate between purging and nonpurging bulimics and controls. There were 15 subjects in each group. The Comprehensive System (Exner, 1986) was used for the scoring of the protocols. Statistically significant differences were not found between the two bulimia groups, but interesting trends were detected in the areas of depression, anger, and self-preoccupation. Results appear to be constrained by the low rate of purging behavior. Comparisons between the combined bulimia groups and the controls resulted in solidly characterizing the bulimics as displaying perceptual inaccuracies, disordered thinking, a vulnerability to interpersonal problems, a damaged self-image, and a pessimistic outlook. The strengths of the study were its use of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed., rev. [DSM-III-R]; American Psychiatric Association, 1987) nonpatients bulimic subtypes and a control group that was comparable in terms of demographics. Future Rorschach studies with bulimics displaying higher frequencies of binging and purging behaviors are suggested.

Rorschach Assessment of Psychological Functioning in Sexually Abused Girls

We measured psychological functioning in a group of 79 Black females between the ages of 5 and 16 and a comparison group of nonabused girls using the Rorschach. In addition to Exner's (1985) Comprehensive System, the Elizur (1949) Rorschach Content Test Scale (RCT), the Mutuality of Autonomy Scale (MOA; Urist, 1977; Urist & Shill, 1982), and the Barrier and Penetration Scales (Fisher & Cleveland, 1968) were used. Sexually abused girls were found to show more disturbed thinking, to experience a higher level of stress relative to their adaptive abilities, to describe human relationships more negatively, and to show more preoccupation with sexuality than the comparison group. The distress experienced by the victimized children was more related to internal mediating variables then to abuse characteristics. Sexually abused girls who are cognitively and emotionally active also experienced high levels of distress compared to abused girls who are psychologically constricted.

Potential Space and the Rorschach: An Application of Object Relations Theory

This article examines the concept of potential space, developed by Winnicott (1971), and its relevance for Rorschach assessment. I propose that the response process can be viewed as occurring in the potential space between reality and fantasy and that various forms of psychopathology can be conceptualized as forms of the collapse of potential space. I suggest that this model can be of utility in interpreting the Rorschach protocols of a variety of difficult-to-diagnose patients. Examples from the Rorschach of a patient diagnosed with a dissociative disorder are presented to illustrate these points.

Rorschach Assessment of Primitive Defenses: A Review

Rorschach Assessment of Primitive Defenses: A Review

Rorschach assessment of primitive defenses: a review.

The Lerner & Lerner Scale for assessing primitive defenses is reviewed. According to its conceptual roots, initial studies assessed the scale's efficacy in distinguishing groups of borderline patients from groups of other diagnostic entities. Later studies extended the use of the scale to assess various clinical groups assumed to have a borderline personality structure. Results from several studies indicate a high level of reliability as judged by degree of interrater agreement. In a host of studies, the scale was found to be valid in distinguishing borderline patients from other types of patients, eating disordered patients from normal controls, and gender disturbed children from normal controls. Another Rorschach scale for assessing primitive defenses was also reviewed and compared.

Personality structure of asthmatic and normal children assessed by the Rorschach technique. An experimental study.

This paper presents the results of a Rorschach assessment of a group of children with severe asthma (n = 21) compared to a control group (n = 21) of normal school children, matched for age and intellectual abilities. The design allows comparable data on total responses, movement, forms, color and other determinants. The mode of perception differs significantly between the groups. These differences will be discussed according to old hypotheses of personality traits as causative factors in the etiology of asthma.

The rorschach assessment of borderline defenses: a concurrent validity study.

This study assesses the concurrent validity of two Rorschach defense scales designed to identify borderline defensive structure. A Rorschach scale designed by Cooper and his colleagues was systematically compared to a defense scale constructed by Lerner and Lerner. Despite considerable overlap on a conceptual and operational level, the scales are based on divergent theoretical models (developmental arrest and fixation) and Rorschach units of analysis (all responses and human responses). Our results are based on the capacity of each scale to discriminate between independently diagnosed samples (neurotic, outpatient borderline, inpatient borderline, schizophrenic) and the relative discriminatory power of particular defenses within each scale to differentiate between groups.

Conceptual and empirical perspectives on the Rorschach assessment of psychopathology.

Conceptual and empirical perspectives on the Rorschach assessment of psychopathology are described and placed in a complementary perspective that stresses the value of conceptual formulations and the necessity of empirical data. Empiricism without concepts fails to explain adequately why Rorschach assessment yields useful information; conceptualization without empirical support fails to document adequately the psychometric soundness of Rorschach inferences. Used in tandem, explanatory concepts and supportive data enhance the scientific stature and professional utility of Rorschach assessment.

Color blindness and Rorschach color responsivity.

Color vision deficits occur in 10% of the American white male population. Thus, color blindness may invalidate diagnostic hypotheses generated from Rorschach data. The Rorschach protocols of 43 white, college male color-blind subjects were compared to the protocols of normally sighted controls. The color-blind group manifested fewer pure "C" responses. No significant between group differences emerged for any of the other primary Rorschach color variables. Pure "C" responses rarely figure prominently in Rorschach evaluations, and the apparent lowered frequency of these responses by the color-blind is insufficient to warrant modification of current Rorschach practice. The data suggest that color blindness is unlikely to confound Rorschach assessment.

A Rorschach assessment of children's mutuality of autonomy.

Explored the construct validity of the Mutuality of Autonomy Scale (Urist, 1977), which assesses the developmental level of object relations based upon Rorschach percepts, within a nonclinical child population. Mutuality of Autonomy was found to be related to teacher ratings of interpersonal functioning in the classroom, and to academic grades but not to either standardized achievement or intelligence. In addition, the Mutuality of Autonomy Scale demonstrated predicted correlations with children's perceived control. Children with developmentally lower object relations scores were more likely to perceive "powerful others" or "unknown" sources as controlling outcomes, particularly within the social domain. The results are discussed in terms of the utility of the Mutuality of Autonomy Scale, and the significance of object relations for personality functioning.