title: Sidney Blatt's Object Relations Inventory: Contributions and Future Directions.
abstract: In this article, we provide a historical overview of the Object Relations Inventory (ORI) and related methods for the assessment of object relations constructed by Sidney Blatt and colleagues (e.g., Blatt, Bers, & Schaffer, 1992 ; Blatt, Wein, Chevron, & Quinlan, 1979 ; Diamond, Kaslow, Coonerty, & Blatt, 1990 ). We clarify terminology that has been used inconsistently in the literature, especially by way of differentiating the methods used to collect descriptions of significant figures, such as the ORI and its predecessor, the Parental Description (PD) task, and the rating scales that Blatt and colleagues constructed to rate those descriptions. We provide a tabular summary of empirical studies of the measure and offer a critical review of those aspects of the instrument that require further empirical investigation and methodological rigor.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Wichita State University.
authors.forename: Steven K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Huprich
authors.affiliation: b Gainesville VA Medical Center , Gainesville , Florida.
authors.forename: John S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Auerbach
authors.affiliation: c Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences , Wayne State University.
authors.forename: John H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Porcerelli
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , Wichita State University.
authors.forename: Lindsey L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Bupp
mesh_terms: D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations / Q000266:history*; D009769:Object Attachment; D010553:Personality Development; D011572:Psychoanalysis / Q000266:history; D011574:Psychoanalytic Theory