Pamela S. Ludolph

Object Relations in Borderline Adolescents

Although pathological object relations is a core aspect of borderline psychopathology, few studies have examined borderline object relations empirically, and none has focused on borderline adolescents. The present study examined four dimensions of object relations, as measured by the Thematic Apperception Test, in a sample of adolescent borderlines, psychiatric comparison subjects, and normals. These dimensions are complexity of object representations, affect-tone of relationship paradigms, capacity for emotional investment in relationships and moral standards, and understanding of social causality. Borderlines differed significantly from both comparison groups in several distinct ways, supporting some aspects of psychoanalytic theories of borderline object relations, while challenging others. Borderline adolescents have a malevolent object world, a relative incapacity to invest in others in a non-need-gratifying way, and a tendency to attribute motivation to others in simple, illogical, and idiosyncratic ways. Their object representations, however, can be quite complex, suggesting something other than a preoedipal arrest.

Answered and Unanswered Questions in Attachment Theory With Implications for Children of Divorce

Attachment theory has contributed much to the conceptualization of relationships in young children, ideas which have, in turn, had much influence in the courts. This paper poses relevant questions about the theory and provides answers from the empirical research available. What is the role of fathers in the lives of babies? Does attachment status well predict later functioning? What characterizes disturbances in attachment and what is their significance for development? What are the current measures of attachment and are they adequate to the task? Finally, the paper discusses implications for the courts and for those who assist the children of divorce.

Complex Alienation Dynamics and Very Young Children

Infants and preschoolers living in families beset by alienation dynamics are widely thought to resist alienation because of their immature emotional and cognitive abilities. Most writers also agree, however, that these children remain at significant risk for later consolidated alienation if family circumstances are not expeditiously changed. We address the resiliency and risk of very young children in the face of alienation, drawing on the literatures of attachment theory, child development, family systems, cognition, memory, and high conflict divorce. We also explore issues important to a thorough evaluation in these families and make suggestions as to effective treatments.