Previous research has demonstrated relations between lower level of personality organization (PO) and multiple indices of mental health disturbances. The goal of this research was to examine whether ...experience of shame would mediate the relationship between PO and depressive symptoms in a sample of 321 Croatian psychiatric outpatients (64% female; mean age, 38.67 years). The total PO level exhibited positive associations with depressive symptoms and with all three subscales of shame (p < 0.01). Characterological, behavioral, and bodily shame showed significant mediating effects in the PO-depression relationship, while controlling for the influence of age and sex. PO level seems to be strongly related to depressive disturbances, with the experience of shame representing one of the underlying mechanisms of this relationship. Given that patients with personality disorders (i.e., low PO level) suffer from poorer treatment outcomes for major mental disorders, more emphasis should be placed on psychotherapeutic management of shame-proneness.
Low shame scores on self-reported measures do not distinguish between genuine and defensive low (unacknowledged) shame associated with narcissistic grandiosity. To distinguish between them, we ...intensified shame-inducing scenarios of the self-report measure of shame- and guilt-proneness and applied them with the original scenarios and with self-report measures of grandiose and vulnerable narcissistic personality traits to 1,077 Croatian students from diverse universities (Mage = 24.63; 85.51% female) recruited online. We defined shame responsiveness as the average difference between shame scores on the intensified and original scenarios and assumed that participants with genuine low shame would report greater shame on intensified scenarios, whereas those with defensive low shame may rigidly mobilize unconscious defenses and tend not to report greater shame (shame unresponsiveness). Data analyses supported this. In contrast to narcissistic vulnerability, as grandiosity (and, presumably, unacknowledged shame) increased, self-reported shame-proneness and shame responsiveness decreased. Participants who were unresponsive to intensified scenarios were significantly more likely to be high in grandiosity than those whose average shame score increased. Unresponsiveness to scenarios of increased intensity suggests a defense against shame experiences, rather than low propensity to shame experiences and may help us identify participants whose low self-reported shame (only) hides a large portion of shame that cannot be acknowledged and that otherwise remains unexamined.
在自我报告测试中，低羞耻感得分不能区分出真实的和防御性的（未被承认的）与自恋夸大相关的羞耻感。为了区分二者，我们在自我报告的羞耻感和负罪感倾向测量中，强化了羞耻诱导情境，并将其应用到原始情境以及夸大和脆弱的自恋人格特征的自我报告的测量中，这是对线上招募的1077名来自不同大学的克罗地亚学生（Mage=24,63;85,51%女性）的测量报告。我们将羞耻感反应定义为在强化情境和原始情境中的羞耻得分之间的平均差异，并假设有真实的低羞耻感的参与者会在强化情境中报告更强的羞耻感，而那些防御性低羞耻感的人可能会刻板地发动无意识防御，并倾向于不报告更强的羞耻感（无羞耻感反应）。数据分析支持了这一点。与自恋的脆弱形成对比的是，夸大感（未被承认的羞耻感，据推测）增加，自我报告的羞耻感倾向和羞耻感反应能力下降。对于强化情境无反应的参与者明显更有可能比那些平均羞耻分升高的参与者有更大的夸大性。对强化情境没有反应提示了对羞耻体验的防御，而不是较低的羞耻体验倾向，这可以帮助我们识别那部分参与者，他们自我报告的低羞耻感（只是）隐藏了一大部分未被承认或未经检验的羞耻感。
We examined the factorial validity and reliability of the Croatian version of the Test of Self-Conscious Affect-3 (TOSCA-3). We then explored gender differences in self-conscious emotions as assessed ...by the TOSCA-3 and the agreement between TOSCA-3-assessed and subjectively perceived proneness to shame and guilt. A total number of 1214 Croatian students from diverse universities completed online questionnaires. The observed data showed a close fit to the proposed model. Internal consistency was good for all subscales. Shame and guilt domain were moderately correlated. Women reported significantly higher shame-proneness and guilt-proneness than men. Differences in detachment domain were small but statistically significant. No significant gender differences were observed for alpha pride, beta pride, and externalization domain. The agreement between TOSCA-3-assessed and subjectively perceived shame-proneness, as well as guilt-proneness, was poor. Men were more prone to incorporate (TOSCA-3-assessed) shame experiences under the word guilt. Our findings suggest that the Croatian version of the TOSCA-3 is a reliable measure of self-conscious emotions. Gender differences in TOSCA-3-assessed shame and guilt favor women, but the more threatening nature of TOSCA-3 scenarios to women’s identities and conforming to gender stereotypes must be taken into account. Subjectively perceived shame- and guilt-proneness should not be used interchangeably with TOSCA-3-assessed shame- and guilt-proneness, respectively.
Love is a delicate experience that delves into the foundations of the psyche, and many sources of the emotional experience of love remain unconscious. The nature of love is twofold and contradictory, ...regressive and progressive, constructive and destructive, connecting and separating, directed toward the object and the self. The ability to idealize is a precondition for "falling in love". Abrupt disappointments can be traumatizing, but gradual ones include the work of mourning and may lead to a more authentic relationship that is less obscured by narcissistic needs. Some aspects of projective identification, which can be a defense, a primitive form of object relation, and a path for psychological change, may be present in all forms of love. These are the close interaction of self and object, blurred boundaries between them, the need that the other person feels what one feels, and a strong desire to continue the relationship. A therapeutic setting can enable the long-term transformation of love in transference and more mature expressions of love in life. The maturation of narcissism is the hallmark of mature love. One of the prerequisites for mature love is a mature superego, which does not require suffering as a prerequisite for satisfying one's needs. Clear differentiation of the boundaries of the self enables safe (temporary) blurring or disappearing of its boundaries and satisfaction of needs for repetition of lost fusion with the primary object of love. Mature love also means the capacity for tolerating ambivalence, i.e., the capacity to integrate both love and hatred experiences of the same person. One can see love as a "glue" that helps integrate different aspects of the psyche into a harmonious whole.
Pathological narcissism has previously been investigated with regard to negative parenting and interpersonal forgiveness, but inconsistent findings have been obtained in relation to its two ...phenotypic forms - grandiosity and vulnerability. Moreover, the role of negative parenting in the lack of forgiveness within narcissistic pathology has not been explored thus far. The aim of the current research was to investigate the complex relations among pathological narcissism, negative parenting, and interpersonal forgiveness in psychiatric outpatients.
A sample of 250 adult psychiatric outpatients (61% female; mean age 39.15 years) were enrolled in this study. The participants filled out the Pathological Narcissism Inventory (PNI), the Tendency to Forgive Scale (TTF), the Measure of Parental Styles (MOPS), and the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scales (DASS21).
Narcissistic grandiosity and narcissistic vulnerability were positively correlated with mothers' and fathers' negative parenting, but this association was significantly stronger in the case of narcissistic vulnerability. Only narcissistic vulnerability was related to interpersonal forgiveness. In the mediation analysis, negative parenting was not directly related to interpersonal forgiveness, however, this association became significant after introducing narcissistic vulnerability. Narcissistic vulnerability served as a full mediator of the mothers' and fathers' negative parenting - interpersonal forgiveness relationships.
Narcissistic vulnerability seems to be more strongly related to negative parenting and interpersonal forgiveness than narcissistic grandiosity, while it also represents one of the underlying mechanisms of the negative parenting - interpersonal forgiveness relationship. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed in relation to pathological narcissism and lack of forgiveness.
Optimal psychopharmacotherapy is based upon the results of many different factors. One of the main factors is therapeutic alliance. The role of psychodynamic is very important in the context of good ...therapeutic alliance. Lack of mentalizing capacity implies disturbed view of psychopharmacotherapy. Therapeutic relationship and optimal alliance offers the frame for acceptance of psychiatric drugs as positive and useful for psychological growth. Our literature search of a recent papers relating psychopharmacology and psychodynamic have revealed progress in psychoanalytic theory related to medication.
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