Leary's Interpersonal Diagnosis in Mothers of Severely Disturbed Children Attending a Therapeutic Nursery

Summary .—The Interpersonal Diagnosis was administered to 19 mothers of children with serious emotional disturbances of early childhood. These mothers perceived themselves, their spouses, and parents as exploitive, autocratic, and aggressive. They had also been found to be chronically depressed. The children may have experienced severe affectional deprivation during the early phases of development due to their mothers' incapacitating and isolating depression and personality characteristics.