Intrapsychic and Interpersonal Realms in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis and Their Comparison with Normal Individuals: A Look at Object Relations and Anger Management

This study was designed to compare object relations and anger control between MS patients and normal individuals.

The present study was a cross-sectional case-control study with two groups: the case group (patients with MS) and the control group (normal controls without MS). 80 patients and 80 healthy individuals were selected according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria using a simple random sampling method. The research’s data collection tool was a three-part questionnaire consisting of demographic information, the Bell Object Relations and the Reality Testing Inventory (BORRTI) and the State-Trait Anger Expression Inventory 2 (STAXI-2). The data were analyzed by the SPSS software version 26 using descriptive and analytical statistics (stepwise regression).

The results showed that in terms of object relations, there was no significant difference between the two groups except in alienation of relations (P = 0.035). The results also showed that in general, there was no statistically significant difference between the anger index of the group of MS patients and the normal controls. However, 12.8% of MS patients were significantly different in state of anger, trait anger and anger control compared to normal individuals. This difference was especially higher in angry temperament (P = 0.025) and the anger expression-in (P = 0.04).

Although patients with MS were not significantly different from healthy individuals in terms of intrapsychic and interpersonal functions in the context of object relations and anger management, it seems that more complex and multifaceted explanations lie in the results that need further research.