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Reflective functioning (RF) refers to the capacity to interpret the behavior of others and self in terms of mental states (Fonagy et al. 1998). Most studies have assessed RF using the RF scales as assessed on the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI; Main 1991). Recently, a method to score RF on the Object Relations Inventory (ORI), a semistructured interview (see, e.g., Blatt et al. 1979, 1996), has been developed. Yet little is known about the relationship between the two measures.
The main purpose of this study is to compare scores on RF as measured on the AAI and on the ORI in a sample of 14 patients with a personality disorder. This preliminary study is part of a larger process-outcome study investigating the effect of a hospitalization-based psychoanalytic treatment for 82 patients with a personality disorder.
Reflective Functioning Scale. The RFS (Fonagy et al. 1998), originally designed to be assessed on the AAI, has established reliability and validity when scored on the AAI. The RFS ranges on an 11-point continuum from negative reflective functioning (scale point −1) through absent but not repudiated reflective functioning (scale point 1), questionable or low reflective functioning (scale point 3), definite or ordinary reflective functioning (scale point 5), marked reflective functioning (scale point 7), and finally full or exceptional reflective functioning (scale point 9).
Object Relations Inventory. The ORI (Blatt et al. 1996) is a reliable and valid semistructured, open-ended interview in which subjects are asked to openly describe their mother, father, self, and the therapy. In a second