ABSTRACT
A study of the partnerships of 15 endogenous bipolar, 15 endogenous unipolar, 15 neurotic and 16 unclassified depressives, and of 36 control persons showed that there were some common factors and some differences due to sex among the depressives as a total group. The greater differences were to be found, however, among the depressive subgroups. Bipolars: particularly great desire for closeness and for love and attention, low self-esteem where the partner is concerned, the strongest aggression inhibition. Unipolars: arrogance, indirect aggression and emotional distance to the partner. Neurotic depressives: many conflicts, directly and indirectly aggressive, dissatisfied and demanding. Unclassified depressives: extreme fluctuations between clinging and arrogance and withdrawal.
Subject(s)
Bipolar Disorder/psychology , Depressive Disorder/psychology , Interpersonal Relations , Adult , Defense Mechanisms , Female , Gender Identity , Humans , Male , Sexual BehaviorABSTRACT
In a study of 29 endogenous and 24 nonendogenous depressive patients, the two diagnostic groups showed significant differences in the thematic content of their depressions. We found no specific themes characteristic of endogenous depression and - in contrast to the nonendogenous group - relatively little linkage of the depressive mood to the endogenous patients' problems. The nonendogenous patients, however, could be clearly identified by the contents of their depression, which revolved around the patients' ambivalent emotional involvement with the environment in general, and their partners in particular. Endogenous and nonendogenous patients differed in degree of inner involvement with the people around them, and this factor, in accord with psychoanalytic experience, proved to be of decisive importance in differentiating between the two groups.
