Personality organisation and the tendency to rumination in a group of alcohol-dependent persons

Abstract

Introduction and objective: Kernberg’s model of personality organisation allows to explain the sources of pathomechanisms underlying mental disorders, personality disorders in particular. Ruminations are automatic, constantly recurring thoughts that constitute a predisposition to a specific interpretation of the world and oneself. They are associated with two mechanisms – adaptive (reflection) and maladaptive (rumination). The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between personality organisation and the general tendency to rumination, rumination on anger and sadness, and reflectivity among alcohol addicts. Materials and methods: 91 alcohol-dependent persons aged 20–77 years (mean, M = 43.57; standard deviation, SD = 12.92), including 26 women and 65 men, participated in the study. The Inventory of Personality Organization (IPO) by John F. Clarkin, Pamela A. Foelsch and Otto F. Kernberg (Polish adaptation by Agnieszka Izdebska and Beata Pastwa-Wojciechowska), The Rumination-Reflection Questionnaire (RRQ-short) by Janet A. Carter (Polish adaptation by Stanisław Radoń), Sadness and Anger Rumination Inventory (SARI) by Maya Peled and Marlene Moretti (Polish adaptation by Małgorzata Anna Basińska) and a sociodemographic questionnaire were used. Results: A significant positive correlation was found between the tendency to rumination and anger and sadness rumination and all dimensions of personality organisation. A higher level of identity diffusion predicted a higher tendency to rumination and sadness rumination. A higher level of identity diffusion and aggression predicted a higher tendency to anger rumination. Moreover, marital status, comorbid mental disorders and age at problematic alcohol use onset were significantly correlated with the analysed variables. Conclusions: A positive relationship between ruminations and all dimensions of personality organisation was confirmed. Greater identity diffusion was a predictor of the tendency to ruminate in its analysed ranges in the study group of alcohol-dependent individuals.