Cognitive Organization, Interpersonal Flexibility and Psychological Maladjustment

Recent research on the contribution of cognitive and social factors to psychopathology has been narrowly focused on isolated cognitive-social aspects of adjustment. This study takes a broader perspective by examining a) cognitive structure in addition to cognitive content and b) general aspects of interpersonal style rather than isolated social behaviors. Maladjustment was. examined with respect to premorbid history as well as current adjustment. The hypotheses were that cognitive integration interacts with cognitive complexity to influence psychological disturbance; that a positive relationship exists between interpersonal flexibility and psychopathology; and that a positive relationship exists between the proportion of ambiguous constructs which they employ and a person's level of psychopathology