Object relations moderate the relationship between emotion regulation and quality of life among psychiatric inpatients: A brief report

The ways a person manages emotional demands consequently influences their psychiatric distress and quality of life. The influence of object relations in the relationship between emotion regulation and quality of life is underemphasized, if not mostly speculative. This study represents an early attempt to empirically investigate if and how object relations moderate the relationship between emotion regulation and quality of life in a hospitalized psychiatric sample. One-hundred (N = 100) consecutively admitted inpatients were each administered the Bell Object Relations and Reality Testing Inventory, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale—Short Form, and the World Health Organization Quality of Life—Brief Version. Results indicated object relations moderated this relationship with distinct aspects of object relations functioning, insecure attachment and egocentricity, reaching the strongest moderation effects. The discussion situates these findings within the extant literature with ideas for future study. Limitations and clinical applications are offered.