Primitive defenses, object relations, and symptom clusters in borderline psychopathology

In this study, I examined associations between selected defense mechanisms and characteristic object relations in borderline personality disorder and the role of these variables in predicting symptomatic expression. A canonical correlation analysis was performed on self-report questionnaire data collected on 53 borderline patients. Two significant correlations of moderate magnitude were obtained; the first set of canonical variables offered evidence supportive of Kernberg's notions of a reciprocal relation between splitting mechanisms and pathognomonic object ties in borderline pathology, and the second set supported the view of a differentiation between borderline and narcissistic defenses. Regression analyses suggested that unique combinations of defense and object relations underlie specific symptomatic expression.