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Biomedical subjects

H D Lerner

Publications and source records attributed to H D Lerner.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Barren Rorschachs: a conceptual approach.

A discussion is presented of five Rorschach protocols that appear to meet the criteria proposed by Exner and Weiner (1982, p. 31) for "brief and barren" Rorschach protocols. The protocols were obtained from a social service agency treating abused, neglected, disturbed, and delinquent youths. An attempt is made to bring to bear a conceptual approach to these Rorschachs, so that they may be seen as clinically valuable and revealing, hence not "invalid" diagnostic protocols. Emphasis is placed on the subjects' approach to the task, the subject-examiner interaction, and the meaning of the subjects' ostensibly peripheral comments. Recommendations are offered regarding ways to maximize the clinical utility of such protocols.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Single-sign Rorschach suicide indicators: a validity study using a depressed inpatient population.

This study attempted to test the validity of using single responses on the Rorschach as indicators of current suicidal risk. Forty-one depressed inpatients were administered the Rorschach along with a concurrent measure of depression and suicidality. Appelbaum and Holzman's (1962) color-shading sign was found to be related to low suicidal risk, whereas Blatt and Ritzler's (1974) transparency sign was found to be unrelated to current suicidal risk, but still related to a past history of suicide attempts. Patients who saw these signs while depressed were also likely to see them when recovered, suggesting that the signs may indicate a "suicidal personality" who may or may not be in any immediate danger of committing suicide.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Borderline and schizophrenic patients. A comparative study of defensive structure.

Historically unresolved diagnostic questions regarding the borderline diagnosis and its relationship to schizophrenia are explored. Is the borderline syndrome a subvariant of schizophrenia or does it constitute a distinct diagnostic entity in its own right with specific, common, and identifiable features which set this group of patients off from others? Based on recent developments in psychoanalytic object relations theory, a Rorschach scoring manual designed to assess the primitive defenses that are conceptualized to underlie as well as organize the borderline patient was applied to independently selected samples of hospitalized borderline (DSM-III criteria) and schizophrenic (Research Diagnostic Criteria) adolescent and young patients. Consistent and significant differences were found between groups on the basis of defensive functioning. Borderline patients were found to use test measures of splitting, primitive devaluation, idealization, denial, and projective identification significantly more than schizophrenic patients. The levels of inter-rater reliability and the direction of the results in discriminating borderline from schizophrenic patients on the basis of defensive functioning indicate that the Rorschach Scoring System is a reliable and valid instrument. The implications of the results in terms of the differential diagnostic issues, the nature of borderline defenses, and the utilization of the Rorschach as a research instrument are considered.

Adolescent↗