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An attempt is made to define ego strength, break it into components, and demonstrate the resultant profile graphically. Ego strength is defined in terms of adaptive capacities to environmental stresses. The profile is represented by an
adaptive Balance Curve which allows objective comparisons to be made of ego strengths or weaknesses among different patients. The specific adaptive patterns being measured are: 1, the dependency balance in self-object relationship; 2, the general pleasure-frustration balance; 3, the genital pleasure-frustration balance; 4, the affective balance; 5, the defense balance; 6, the emergency emotion balance; 7, the guilt balance; 8, the pathology balance; 9, the social interaction balance. Each balance is graded in terms of whether aggressively over-reactive patterns (alloplastic interactions) hold sway or whether inhibitive patterns are characteristic. The adaptive balance curve which results from putting all these factors together is thought by the authors to represent ego strengths and weaknesses and to be useful as an instrument for predicting the therapeutic outcome of a given disorder.