Splitting: an empirical study

In this study, the Rorschach scoring system for splitting developed by Lerner, Sugarman, and Gaughran (1981) was applied to the Holtzman Inkblot Technique (HIT). Normal individuals (n = 30), patients with neurotic disorders (n = 30), patients with borderline personality disorder (n = 30), patients with acute schizophrenia (n = 25), and patients with chronic schizophrenia (n = 25) were studied with respect to their use of splitting. Sufficient interrater reliability was demonstrated for the scoring of splitting in the HIT. Significant differences between borderline patients, acute schizophrenic patients, and chronic schizophrenic patients, on the one hand, and patients with neurotic disorders, on the other hand, were demonstrated. Furthermore, it was shown that the indicators of splitting were associated with measures of identity diffusion, primitive defense mechanisms, and other measures of psychopathology. The Lerner indicator of splitting proved to be multidimensional. Different forms of splitting seem to be characteristic of borderline patients and schizophrenic patients. The application of the Lerner criteria of primitive defenses to the HIT appears to be promising.