Identity diffusion and psychopathology: comparison between adult psychiatric patients and normals.
OBJECTIVE
This research studied the characteristics of self representations and ego identity in adult psychiatric patients with different mental disorders according to DSM-IV (APA, 1994) and Kernberg's structural criteria for personality organizations (1986).


METHODS
We constructed Identity Diffusion Questionnaire (IDQ), a self-report measure based on Kernberg's criteria for identity diffusion (1986), and Actual Self - Ideal Self - Significant Other Scales (AISS), a measure for discrepancies between perceived actual self, ideal self and significant other. Both measurements reached sufficiently internal consistency and construct validity. The sample of 186 adult psychiatric in- and outpatients and 109 controls of both sexes served as subjects in the study.


RESULTS
All groups of patients reached higher scores on IDQ and AISS compared to healthy controls. Patients revealed more identity problems than normals and they also had bigger discrepancy between actual and ideal self than healthy participants.


CONCLUSIONS
These results support psychodynamic and cognitive theories and empirical studies that disturbances in self representations and ego identity are related to many different mental disorders. Results also confirmed the claim that identity disturbances are related to big discrepancies in representation of real and ideal self. The hypothesis that severity of identity diffusion is in a positive correlation with severity of pathology was not confirmed. There may be some uncontrolled factors which influenced the results. Despite some theoretical and methodological limitations the present study confirms the relation between disturbances of ego identity and different psychopathology.
Benedik
Emil
E
Psychiatric Hospital of Begunje, Begunje na Gorenjskem 55, 4275 Begunje, Slovenia. emil.benedik@telemach.net
D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D015897:Comorbidity; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D004532:Ego; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D010555:Personality Inventory / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012649:Self Concept