Interpersonal schemas of adolescents with depressive and disruptive disorders

While the interpersonal and cognitive characteristics of youth Depressive Disorders have been widely researched, the majority of research into Disruptive Disorders has focused on the examination and treatment of its behavioral correlates. This study sought to shed light onto the ways in which adolescents with Disruptive Disorders perceive interpersonal relationships. More specifically it sought to identify how those cognitive patterns are similar to or different from those identified in youth with Depressive Disorders. Participants were 66 youth (ages 12 to 17) from a residential treatment facility, with Depressive, Disruptive, or Co-morbid Depressive and Disruptive Disorders and a control group of 29 youth (ages 11 to 18) from a middle and high school. One difficulty in examining the cognitions and emotions of individuals with Disruptive Disorders is that the population is by definition guarded and dishonest. Past research has suggested that projective tests such as the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT; Murray, 1943) may be more likely to circumvent the defense mechanisms of these individuals. In this study the TAT was used to identify the interpersonal schema of individuals with Disruptive Disorders using a coding system (The Interpersonal Schema Analysis) developed for the current study. Fisher’s LSD procedure indicated significant differences between groups on Aggression and Entitlement, but did not indicate significant differences on domains more traditionally associated with Depressive Disorders.