ABSTRACT
Lack of differentiation between self and other is an important concept in the understanding of severe psychopathology. The current instrument is a way of administering and scoring the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) that measures the degree of differentiation in the subject’s relationships with others. Dyads in TAT stories are scored for the presence or absence of several constructs, each of which is a component of symbiotic attachment. In this way, the investigator can determine the specific way in which the subject is not differentiated. Scores can be interpreted at the level of the dyad or as a total score. Each dyad is defined by a gender–generation combination, so that the researcher obtains scores on the following dyads: older woman–younger woman, older woman–younger man, older man–younger woman, older man–younger man, and older man–older woman. These scores are then added to arrive at a total symbiosis score. This chapter describes the conceptual foundations of the scoring system, definitions of the variables, research evidence of reliability and validity, and uses of the system.
