A fear of falling ill and other aspects of object relations among offspring of depressed parents

It is not uncommon for offspring of depressed parents to feel at increased risk for developing their parent\u27s disorder. In this study, I examined the ways in which a fear of developing a parent\u27s disorder speaks to aspects of a person\u27s quality of object relations. Sixty-two college students were asked to provide information about themselves and their parents. Participants took part in a group administration of the Thematic Apperception Test, which was scored for the quality of object relations using Westen\u27s (1985) Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale (SCORS). Offspring of depressed parents perceived themselves to be at increased risk for developing depression. This perceived vulnerability relates to negative affect tone and poor quality of emotional investment as measured by the SCORS. Findings from this study point to the importance of listening to the ways in which a fear of illness speaks to a person\u27s internal representations. These findings are discussed along with recommendations for future studies