An Exploration of Separation-Individuation Themes in the Borderline Personality Disorder

Abstract

In an attempt to test hypotheses derived from Mahler's theory of borderline development, Rorschach protocols of borderline and schizophrenic patients were studied for the presence of themes related to the separation-individuation process. A specially constructed Separation-Individuation Theme Scale was used with a 96% reliability of agreement between two raters. The borderline group attained more separation-individuation themes than the schizophrenic group, whereas the schizophrenics showed more preseparation-individuation themes. The results were interpreted as a validation of Mahler's theory. In addition, the results tended to confirm a developmental model for the understanding of psychopathology.

Attachment Theory, Psychoanalysis, Personality Development, and Psychopathology

“…Drawing from theoretical formulations and clinical observations about very early processes of boundary articulation (Blatt and Wild, 1976;Blatt et al, 1975;Jacobson, 1964;Kernberg, 1975Kernberg, , 1976, processes of separation-individuation (Coonerty, 1986;Mahler, Pine, and Bergman, 1975), the formation of the sense of self (Stern, 1985), and the development of increasingly mature levels of interpersonal relatedness Blass, 1990, 1996), Blatt and colleagues identified two fundamental dimensions of self and object representation: (a) the differentiation of self from other and (b) the establishment of increasingly mature levels of interpersonal relatedness. To assess the degree of differentiation and relatedness in descriptions of self and significant others, Diamond et al (1991) developed the Differentiation-Relatedness Scale, a 10-point scale on which to rate the following points: a lack of basic differentiation between self and other (Levels 1 and 2); the use of mirroring (Level 3), self-other idealization or denigration (Level 4), and an oscillation between polarized negative and positive attributes (Level 5) as maneuvers to consolidate and stabilize representations; an emergent differentiated, constant, and integrated representation of self and other, with increasing tolerance for ambiguity (Levels 6 and 7); representations of self and others as empathically interrelated (Level 8); representations of self and other in reciprocal and mutually facilitating interactions (Level 9); and reflectively constructed integrated representations of self and others in reciprocal and mutual relationships (Level 10).…”

Psychodynamic Measures of Therapeutic Change

“…Drawing from theoretical formulations and clinical observations about very early processes of boundary articulation (Blatt and Wild, 1976;Blatt et al, 1975;Jacobson, 1964;Kernberg, 1975Kernberg, , 1976, processes of separation-individuation (Coonerty, 1986;Mahler, Pine, and Bergman, 1975), the formation of the sense of self (Stern, 1985), and the development of increasingly mature levels of interpersonal relatedness and self-definition Blass, 1990, 1996;Blatt and Shichman, 1983), Diamond, Blatt, and colleagues identified two fundamental dimensions of self and object representation: (a) the differentiation of self from other and the integration of a sense of self; and (b) the establishment of increasingly mature levels of interpersonal relatedness. To assess the level of differentiation and relatedness in descriptions of self and significant others, they developed a 10-point scale on which to rate the following points: a lack of basic differentiation between self and other (Levels 1 and 2); the use of mirroring (Level 3), self-other idealization or denigration (Level 4), and an oscillation between polarized negative and positive attributes (Level 5) as maneuvers to consolidate and stabilize representations; an emergent differentiated, constant, and integrated representation of self and other with increasing tolerance for ambiguity (Levels 6 and 7); representations of self and others as empathically interrelated (Level 8); representations of self and other in reciprocal and mutually facilitating interactions (Level 9); and reflectively constructed integrated representations of self and others in reciprocal and mutual relationships (Level 10).…”

Concepts of Development and the Rorschach: The Contributions of Paul Lerner and John Exner in Historical Context

“…Whereas earlier Rorschach diagnoses of borderline conditions rested chiefly on assessment of thought disorder signs, now particular attention was given to analyzing content variables to make inferences about the experience of self and others on the basis of concepts drawn from the theories of Kernberg and Mahler and to a lesser extent those of Kohut (1971Kohut ( , 1978. These changes can be seen in a the creation of a variety of Rorschach scales such as Urist's (1977) Mutuality of Autonomy Scale, Kwawer's (1980) Borderline Interpersonal Relations Scale, Connerty's (1986) Scale of Separation-Individuation, the Concept of the Object on the Rorschach Scale (Blatt, Brenneis, Schimek, & Glick (1976a, 1976bLevy, Meehan, Auerbach, & Blatt, 2005), and the Developmental Object-Relations Scale (Ipp, 1986). For example, the last of these scales analyzes responses in terms of categories such as "catastrophic disintegration," "symbiosis," separation-individuation," "false autonomy," and "toward object constancy.…”