The Assessment of "Self-Object" Representations of Parents in Iranian Culture

Subject Areas : روان‌شناسی تحولی

Tayebeh Shahmoradifar ¹ , Parviz Azad Fallah ² , Hojatollah Farahani ³

1 - PhD in Psychology Trbiat Modares University
2 - PhD Trbiat Modares University
3 - PhD Tarbiat Modares University

Received: 2023-03-06 Accepted : 2023-03-06 Published : 2022-09-23

Keywords: Communication, Self, object, object relation, child, parent,

Abstract :

The purpose of this study was to examine the patterns of object relationships index of Iranian parents, based on the perspective of object relationships. In this qualitative research, the evaluation was performed on 15 people considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data were collected using clinical interviews and analyzed by thematic analysis. To prove the validity and accuracy of the data, four criteria of credibility, dependability, confirmability, transferability, and triangulation method were used. By analyzing the data, three comprehensive themes of self, other, and communication (6 organizer themes and 33 basic themes) were ob- tained. The obtained comprehensive themes can be explained based on the object relationship perspective, which emphasizes that the individual's experiences with the first caregivers are internalized in childhood and are repeated in the individual's subsequent relation- ships. In other words, parents unconsciously repeat these experiences in relation to their children. The findings of this study emphasize that parents' conflicts with their children cannot be explained solely on the basis of their current relationships, and the root of these problems should be traced to "self-subject" representations.

References:

Azadarmaki, T. (2019). The Sociology the Iranian Family. Tehran: The Organization for Researching and Composing University Textbooks in the Islamic Sciences and the Humanities (SAMT). [In Persian].

Barusch, A., Gringeri, C., & George, M. (2011). Rigor in qualitative social work research: A review of strategies used in published articles. Social Work Re- search, 35 (1), 11-9.

Baumeister, R., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psycho- logical Bulletin, 117, 497–529.

Belsky, J. (1984). The determinants of parenting: A pro- cess model. Child Development, 55, 83-96.

Bi, X., Yang, Y., Li, H., Wang, M., Zhang, W., & Deater-Deckard, K. (2018). Parenting Styles and Parent–Adolescent Relationships: The Mediating Roles of Behavioral Autonomy and Parental Authority. Frontiers in Psychology,13(9), 2187.

Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss: Vol. 1. Attach- ment. New York: Basic Books.

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77-101.

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2016). Thematic analysis. Lon- don: SAGE Publications.

Burger, J. M. (2011). Personality. USA: Thomson.

Calabrese, M. L., Farber, B. A., & Westen, D. (2005). The Relationship of Adult Attachment Constructs to Object Relational Patterns of Repre- senting Self and Others. The Journal of the Ame ican Academy of Psychoanalysis and Dynamic Psychiatry, 33(3), 513–530.

Cassidy, J.R., & Shaver, P. (2016). Handbook of At- tachment Theory, Research, and Clinical Applications. New York, London: Guilford Press.

Clark, V., & Smith, M. (2015). No hiding, not shout- ing, just me: Gay men negotiate their visual identities. Journal of Homosexuality, 62 (1), 4- 32.

Crittenden, P.M., & Ainsworth, M.D.S. (1989). Child maltreatment and attachment theory. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Feeney, J., Noller, P., & Hanrahan, M. (1995). .Assess- ing adult attachment. New York: Guilford Press.

Greenberg, J. R., & Mitchell, S. A. (1983). Object relations in psychoanalytic theory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Grossman, K. E., & Grossman, K. (1991). Attachment

quality as an organizer of emotional and behavio- ral responses in a longitudinal perspective. London:

Routledge.

Hadley,J. A., Hdlloway, E. L., & MaUinckradt, B. (1993). Common aspects of object relations and self-representations in offspring from disparate dys- functional families. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 348-356 ,40

Hammersley, M., & Atkinson, P., (1998). Ethnography: Principles in Practice. London: Rutledge.

Howe, D., Brandon, M., Hinings, D., & Schofield, G. (1999). Attachment theory, child maltreatment and family support. New York: Macmillan Press LTD.

Kerr, D. C. R., Lopez, N. L., Olson, S. L., & Sameroff, A. J. (2004). Parental discipline and externalizing behavior problems in early childhood: The roles of moral regulation and child gender. Journal of Abnor- mal Child Psychology, 32(4), 369–383.

La Guardia, J. G., & Patrick, H. (2008). Self-determina- tion theory as a fundamental theory of close relationships. Canadian Psychology, 49(3), 201-209.

Locke, J. Y. (2014). Too much of a good thing: An investi- gation into overparenting. Doctoral Dissertation, Queensland University of Technology.

Mesgarian, F. (2017). The concept of object relation and effect of CCRT psychotherapy (based on core conflict- ual relationship theme) in social anxiety. Doctoral Dis- sertation, Tehran, Department of Faculty of Humani- ties, Tarbiat Modares University. [In Persian].

Mesgarian, F., Azad Fallah, P., Farahani, H., & Ghorbani, N. (2017). Object relations and defense mechanisms in social anxiety. Journal of Developmental Psychology: Iranian Psychologist, 14(53), 3-14. [In Persian].

Mushtaq, N. (2011). Good mother, bad mother. Tehran: Mehrsa Publications. [In Persian].

Ogden, T. H. (1986). The matrix of the mind. Northvale, NJ: Jason Aronson.

Pally, R. (2007). The predicting brain. Journal of Psycho- analysis, 88, 861– 81.

Pluess, M., & Belsky, J. (2010). Differential susceptibility to parenting and quality child care. mental Psychology, 46 (2), 379–390.

Rambod, M. (2018). Interviewing: The most common methods of data collection in qualitative studies. Sadra

Medical Journal, 6(4), 303-316. [In Persian].

Rashid, K.H., Hoseiny Asl Nazarloo, M., Yagoobi, M., & Kord nogabi, R. (2017). Identifying the main components of child rearing according to the Ira- nian parents’ points of view. Journal of Family Re- search, 13(2), 215-236. [In Persian].

Robbins, M. S., Bachrach, K., & Szapocznik, J. (2002). Bridging the research-practice gap in adolescent substance abuse treatment: The case of brief strategic family therapy. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 23(2), 123–132.

Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2002). Overview of self-deter- mination theory: An organismic dialectical perspec- tive. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.

Shmuel, S. (2007). Wondering” and Beyond: Discus- sion of Arietta Slade’s “Reflective Parenting Programs. Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 26 (4), 658-667.

Simons, R. L., Simons, L. G., Burt, C. H., Drum- mund, H., Stewart, E., Brody, G. H., & Cutrona, C. (2006). Supportive parenting moderates the effect of discrimination upon anger, hos- tile view of relationships, and violence among African American boys. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 47(4), 373–389.

Skinner, E., & Edge, K. (2002). Self-determination, coping, and development. Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press

Stadter, M. (1996). Object relations brief therapy. N.J.: Jason Aronson.

Stadter, M. (2009). Object relations brief therapy: The therapeutic relationship in short-term work. Maryland: Roman and Littlefield.

Strand, P.S., & Wahler, R.G. (1996). Predicting maladap- tive parenting: Role of maternal object relations. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 25 (l), 43-51.

Westen, D. (1991). Social cognition and object relations. Psychological Bulletin, 109, 429–455.

Winnicott, D. W. (1956). Mirror role of mother and family in child development. In Playing and R e a l i t y , pp. 111-118. London: Tavistock.

Winnicott, D.W. (1945). Primitive emotional development. TPP.