IMPAIRED OBJECT RELATIONS IN PROFESSIONAL WOMEN MOLESTED AS CHILDREN

Psychodynamic theory suggests that an adult's ability to relate to another is a function of the early development of object relations. This article examines the usefulness of this theoretical construct in understanding the difficulties experienced in interpersonal relationships by sexual abuse survivors in a national sample of 2,963 professional women, 32% of whom had been sexually molested. Abuse survivors reported significantly greater impairment in their capacity for object relatedness than did nonabused women, in terms of interpersonal discomfort, maladaptive interpersonal patterns, and interpersonal hypersensitivity. The level of impairment in interpersonal relationships was mediated by the characteristics of the abuse, particularly abuse within the nuclear family and frequent, chronic abuse.