Association Between Dimensions of Pathological Object Relations and Right-Wing Conservatism

Abstract

Right-wing conservatism in the United States has many features of psychological interest that evoke the question of what factors might be associated with it. One factor that may be of particular interest to psychoanalytically oriented social scientists is object relations, pathology in which is often operationalized in terms of three dimensions (identity diffusion, primitive defenses, and problems in reality testing). There are reasons to expect that each of these three dimensions might be associated with contemporary right-wing conservatism, although this has not yet received much empirical examination. In this study we address this issue, examining the association between dimensions of pathological object relations and right-wing conservatism in a broad sample of U.S. residents (N = 392) using a partial least squares approach to structural equation modeling. Results suggest that primitive defenses and reality testing problems are positively, and identity diffusion is negatively, associated with right-wing conservatism. These findings have implications for how we might understand right-wing conservatism and dialogue with those identifying with it.