COMMON ASPECTS OF OBJECT RELATIONS AND SELF-REPRESENTATIONS IN OFFSPRING FROM DISPARATE DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILIES

Survey data were collected from 97 adults, drawn from clinical and community settings, who identified themselves as growing up in dysfunctional families. Constructs from object relations, self psychology, and attachment theory were used to select criterion measures. Although the level of family dysfunction was generally high, no significant differences were observed between adult children of alcoholics and adults from families whose dysfunction was not due to substance abuse. Degree of family dysfunction was significantly associated with internalized shame, object relations deficits, and presence of addictions and emotional problems. Contrary to expectation, family dysfunction was negatively correlated with 2 self psychology constructs: goal instability and superiority. The study suggests that clinical interventions based on object relations and attachment theories may be particularly useful with adult children from dysfunction families.