The Sustaining Fantasy Questionnaire: Measurement of Sustaining Functions of Fantasies in Psychiatric Inpatients

The concept of the sustaining fantasy and the Sustaining Fantasy Questionnaire (SFQ), an instrument for its measurement, is introduced. Sustaining fantasies represent characteristic ways to ameliorate intense negative affect or to restore self-esteem. The responses of 134 psychiatric inpatients were...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of personality assessment 1983-08, Vol.47 (4), p.427-439
Main Authors: Zelin, Martin L., Bernstein, Stephen B., Heijn, Cornelius, Jampel, Robert M., Myerson, Paul G., Adler, Gerald, Buie Jr, Dan H., Rizzuto, Anna Maria
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Affective Symptoms - psychology
Biological and medical sciences
Death
Fantasy
Female
Humans
Inpatients - psychology
Male
Medical sciences
Mental Disorders - psychology
MMPI
Nosology. Terminology. Diagnostic criteria
Patients - psychology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Social Isolation
Techniques and methods
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Summary:The concept of the sustaining fantasy and the Sustaining Fantasy Questionnaire (SFQ), an instrument for its measurement, is introduced. Sustaining fantasies represent characteristic ways to ameliorate intense negative affect or to restore self-esteem. The responses of 134 psychiatric inpatients were used to construct ten scales. The SFQ and MMPI were then administered to 125 nonpatients. Psychiatric inpatients had higher scores than normals on fantasies of death, withdrawal, restitution, suffering, God, and closeness. Fantasies of power and revenge, admiration of self, competition and aesthetics did not differentiate between groups. SFQ scales correlated significantly with MMPI scales and demographic characteristics as well with staff ratings of the inpatients.
ISSN:0022-3891
1532-7752
DOI:10.1207/s15327752jpa4704_13