Regina A. Kurth

Self-assessment of interpersonal schemas using the relationship patterns questionnaire: A quantitative approach

This article reviews measures used to assess relationship patterns, 1 of which is the Relationship Patterns Questionnaire (RPQ) developed by Kurth and Pokorny (1999). The RPQ is based on the Structural Analysis of Social Behavior (Benjamin, 1974) and the core conflictual relationship theme (Luborsky, 1977). Using data from a representative German population survey (N=2,007), the authors introduced empirical RPQ scales for the reaction of the object, reaction of the subject, and introject items to complement the theoretical scales of the questionnaire. Means and standard deviations according to age, gender, and place of residence are reported as well as correlations between the scales and their dependency on sociodemographic parameters. The empirical scales show good internal consistency and clinical relevance. Thus, the RPQ is suitable to identify a patients relationship patterns quickly and economically both in practice and in research.

Relationship Patterns Questionnaire (RPQ): Psychometric properties and clinical applications

The current version of the Relationship Patterns Questionnaire (RPQ) is presented as a successor to the Interpersonal Relationship Patterns Questionnaire (IRP; Kurth, 1998). Both the items and the scales are theory based and are constructed on the basis of an interpersonal circumplex model found as a result of factorial analyses of the IRP and the core conflictual relationship theme method (Luborsky, 1977). The RPQ assesses the relationship patterns concerning the individuals own behavior as well as the anticipated behavior of an important reference person. The circumplex structure of the questionnaire and the differences between groups are examined using a representative sample (N=2,007); the test–retest reliability is determined using a student sample (N=79). The clinical application and the potential sensitivity of the questionnaire are demonstrated in a single-case study, in which a patient assessed her relationships to important reference persons at both the beginning and the end of inpatient psychotherapy.

Long-term outcomes of short-term and long-term psychosomatic inpatient treatment and their predictors

OBJECTIVES The Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy at the University Giessen, Germany, offers short-term (STT) and long-term inpatient therapy (LTT). METHODS In a prospective, 3-year follow-up study, we examined therapeutic indication, short- and long-term results, outcome predictors, and the utilization of aftercare for both settings. RESULTS STT patients were more frequently acutely ill, suffered from stronger symptomatic manifestations, and were more frequently employed. LTT patients had a greater rate of chronic psychosomatic disorders, personality disorders and somatic comorbidity. In both settings, distress strongly declined during inpatient therapy and remained stable for 3 years. Negative predictors of outcome were infantile object relation patterns and interpersonal problems. We found no differences between STT and LTT patients in terms of the utilization of aftercare. CONCLUSION Duration of psychosomatic inpatient treatment should be differentiated according to the chronicity and nature of the disorder.

Eating problems in very low birthweight children are highest during the first year and independent risk factors include duration of invasive ventilation.

This study aimed to investigate the incidence and time course of eating problems in children born with a very low birthweight (VLBW) and to identify the perinatal risk factors.

Desenvolvimento da versão em português do Brasil do questionário sobre padrão de relacionamentos Beziehungs-Muster Fragebogen

INTRODUCTION: The Beziehungs-Muster Fragebogen (BeMus-3), known in the international literature as the Relationship Patterns Questionnaire (RPQ), is a questionnaire that evaluates the central pattern of relationship. The development of its Brazilian Portuguese version aims at introducing, in our country, a self-report measurement to implement research projects involving the construct of transference. METHODOLOGY: The development stages of this version were: obtaining permission from the authors; translation of the original instrument into Brazilian Portuguese; evaluation and adjustment of the translated material by psychiatry and psychology professionals; back-translation; evaluation of semantic equivalence; consensus of psychiatry and psychology professionals on the adequacy of the instrument to our culture; interchange with the target population. CONCLUSION: BeMus-3 is a self-report measurement to assess the transference or central pattern of relationship that can facilitate the implementation of projects to investigate the transference-related aspects of therapeutic relationship. This method is easy to apply and analyze, has a low cost and does not require the use of video or voice recorders during the session. Investigative studies on the pattern of relationship may provide further results on the adaptability of this instrument to our culture.

Zur Validierung eines interpersonalen Zirkumplexmodells mittels “directional statistics“

Zusammenfassung. Interpersonale Zirkumplexmodelle werden zunehmend als Grundlage verschiedener Selbstbeurteilungsinstrumente genutzt. Kann die Zweidimensionalitat dieser Verfahren faktorenanalytisch nachgewiesen werden, wird die kreisformige Anordnung mittels “directional statistics“ untersucht. Da es widerspruchliche Ansatze zur Kennzeichnung der Zirkumplex-Skalen gibt, soll diese Studie mittels “directional statistics“ einen Beitrag zur Validierung eines interpersonalen Zirkumplexmodells aus der Selbsteinschatzungsperspektive leisten. Dazu wurde die Einordnung unterschiedlicher Verben, die interpersonales Verhalten beschreiben, ins Zirkumplexmodell durch verschiedene Stichproben (Experten, psychologische Laien, Patienten) untersucht. Experten nahmen die Einordnung im Vergleich zu den anderen Stichproben sowohl differenzierter als auch theoriekonformer vor. Es gab auch Verben, uber deren Positionierung sich alle Stichproben einig waren, die jedoch nicht-theoriekonform vorgenommen wurden. Demzufolge ist d...