Comparison of Object Relations and Psychological Needs in People with Severe and Mild Symptoms after Emotional Breakdown

The aim of the present study was to compare object relations and psychological needs in people with severe and mild symptoms following emotional breakdown. In a causal-comparative design, 200 people (120 women and 80 men) with emotional breakdown participated in the research through voluntary sampling via virtual networks and completed the Love Trauma Syndrome Inventory (LTSI), the Bell Object Relations Inventory (BORI), and the Basic Psychological Needs Satisfaction and Frustration Scale (BPNSFS). Participants were divided into two groups of severe (n=100) and mild (n=100) symptoms using the cut-off point of the Love Trauma Syndrome Scale. Multivariate analysis of variance showed that there was a significant difference between the two groups with severe and mild symptoms on the dimensions of object relations and psychological needs. Thus, people with severe symptoms had higher scores on all dimensions of object relations, indicating more damage to each of the components in this group (P<0.001). Also, people with severe symptoms experienced less satisfaction and more frustration in their psychological needs (P<0.001). Based on the findings, correcting past communication patterns and compensating for psychological needs, in addition to reducing symptoms, will prevent these factors from being repeated in future relationships.