"Clinging to the other": Evaluation of dependence towards romantic partner in the context of body image and object relations

Close relationships with other people are an important part of human life and psychology. Among these close relationships, the romantic relationship with the "significant other" has a different place. The way people experience romantic relationships bears the traces of many psychic dynamics. Object relations, which are based on the relationship between the person and the primary object in the early period, shape the personality organization, perceptions of the imagined objects and defenses, and the way the person relates to his environment, especially with significant others, provide important information to understand the positioning in romantic relationships. This study aims to examine the concept of partner dependency which expresses a relationship dynamic in which the person intensely needs the existence of the romantic partner, channels all his resources to his partner and relationship, and feels intense anxiety about abandonment and being alone, in the context of body image and object relations. The research consists of two stages in which quantitative and qualitative data are collected. In the first part, where objective tests were used, 302 women between the ages of 18-40 participated in the study. Quantitative data of the study were collected using Demographic Information Form, Romantic Partner Dependency Questionnaire, Bell Object Relations and Reality Testing Inventory, Multidimensional Body-Self Relations Questionnaire and Relationship Satisfaction Scale. In the second stage of the study, a psychoanalytically oriented interview was conducted and the Rorschach and Thematic Perception Test were applied to 5 women who received high scores from the Romantic Partner Dependency Questionnaire. The quantitative findings of the study revealed that there are significant relationships between partner dependency, object relations quality, body-self relations and relationship satisfaction. According to the analyses, object relations quality is a significant predictor of partner dependency and body-self relations. Findings of the projective tests, which were evaluated in accordance with the French School, show that women dependent on their partners have difficulty separating from the primary object, their need for containing is not adequately met in the early stage, they have difficulty in establishing a narcissistic body and self-design, and they have intense anxiety about loss and abandonment. All findings obtained in the study were evaluated in the light of psychoanalytic theory. Keywords: Partner dependency, object relations, body image, body-self relations, projective tests