Parental representations of 124 general practice patients and 439 psychiatric out-patients were examined and compared using Parker's Parental Bonding Instrument, which measures care versus indifference/rejection and protection versus encouragement of independence. The scores for the general practice population are comparable to those of Parker's nonpsychiatric subjects. The psychiatric outpatient population reported lower parental care and higher parental protection than did the nonclinical population. Several sex differences were found in the clinical sample, pointing to the need for separate analyses of scores for men and women.
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