Concurrent validity of the Quality of Object Relations Scale (QORS) in relation to proxy assessment of the theoretical scale constituents.

Background/aims: Clinical assessment of object relations is essential when evaluating treatability by different types of psychotherapy. The Quality of Object Relations Scale (QORS) is an established interview measure used for assessing object relations, but the validity of the QORS in relation to its theoretical constituents has not been examined. Our aim was to study the concurrent validity of the QORS.

Methods: Trained interviewers assessed 263 outpatients seeking psychotherapy due to mood or anxiety disorder, with the QORS and with selected proxy criterion measures representing constituents of object-relational maturity.

Results: Discontinuity in relationships and the use of devaluation in relationships were the main determinants of low Quality of Object Relations (low-QOR). Patients with discontinuity in relationships had a four-fold and patients with devaluation in relationships a three-fold risk of belonging to the low-QOR group (p = 0.001) in comparison to those without these relational characteristics. Also poor self-confidence and major separations in childhood predicted the low- versus high-QOR category.

Conclusion: The results indicate adequate concurrent validity of the QORS and support its credibility in assessing personality pathology, beyond axis II diagnosis, by trained clinicians.