title: Empirical and clinical assessments of children's object relations and object representations.
abstract: A series of investigations that assess children's object representations using the Rorschach Mutuality of Autonomy (MOA) Scale are reviewed. The scale is viewed as a summary measure of a child's repertoire of previous interpersonal interactions. It has been effective in delineating qualitative aspects of a number of child psychopathological syndromes, in documenting short-term object representational shifts in children undergoing surgery, and in foretelling key paradigms in child psychotherapy. This effectiveness provides empirical support for the hypothesized salience of object representations as an integral facet of personality and affirms Escalona's (1968) contention that capturing a child's phenomenological experience enhances our capacity to predict later outcome.
authors.affiliation: City College and Graduate Center, New York.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tuber
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D009769:Object Attachment; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010553:Personality Development; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D011594:Psychometrics; D012016:Reference Values; D012392:Rorschach Test / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*