Regular Article Psychother Psychosom 1998;67:241–248 Stereotypical Relationship Patterns and Psychopathology M. Cierpka a M. Strack a D. Benninghoven a H. Staats a R. Dahlbender b D. Pokorny b G. Frevert b G. Blaser b H. Kächele b M. Geyer c A. Körner c C. Albani c a Center for Family Therapy, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University of Göttingen, b Department of Psychotherapy, University of Ulm, c Clinic for Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, University of Leipzig, Germany OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Key Words Psychotherapy research Interpersonal behavior Relationship style Transference Consistency of interpersonal behavior OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Abstract Background: We explored the relationship between the consistency of rela- tionship patterns and the severity of psychopathology. Method: Relationship patterns were assessed by means of Relationship Anecdote Paradigm inter- views rated according to the Core Conflictual Relationship Theme (CCRT) method. The repetition of the same type of CCRT components across relation- ship narratives indicated stereotypical patterns. Results: Subjects treated in an inpatient setting (n = 25) told narratives with more consistent patterns than subjects in an outpatient setting (n = 32). Relationship episodes of normal adults (n = 23) were more flexible compared with the two clinical groups. Especially repetitions of the wish component were closely associated with the severity of psychopathology assessed by SCL-90R. Conclusions: The consis- tency of relationship patterns seems to be connected with the severity of psy- chopathology. OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO M. Cierpka, MD Center for Family Therapy Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy University of Göttingen, Humboldtallee 38 D–37073 Göttingen (Germany) ABC Fax + 41 61 306 12 34 E-Mail karger@karger.ch www.karger.com © 1998 S. Karger AG, Basel 0033–3190/98/0675–0241$15.00/0 Accessible online at: http://BioMedNet.com/karger Introduction Psychological well-being can be understood as a state of mind in which a person is able to choose his/her way of dealing with others in specific situations from a repertoire of different possibilities. Experiencing certain situations and behaving in them in a way that is judged as psycho- logically healthy can be defined as choosing actions that are adequate to the situation and to the interacting part- ners. In contrast to this, psychopathological interactions seem to be contained within more rigid boundaries [1]. Psychodynamic therapists relate individual relation- ship styles to mental representations of interpersonal rela- tionships which are developed around wishes and affects. They follow Freud [2], who defined these relationship styles (‘stereotype plates’) in the individual’s repetitive behavior as a transference process. Feelings, anxieties or expectations are thought to be derived from past relation- ships and transferred to present relationship behavior. Psychodynamic therapies focus on these transference pro- cesses in order to change the patient’s maladaptive, re- petitive relationship patterns. Thus the psychodynamic literature emphasizes the pervasiveness of relationship styles across different interpersonal situations. Luborsky et al. [3] defined and operationalized the Core Conflictual Relationship Theme (CCRT) which ap- plies across a variety of human interactions. Whereas psy- chodynamic therapists propose that individuals hold to one predominant stereotypical relationship pattern, the social cognition literature additionally emphasizes the sit-