Patient sex as moderator of effects of transference interpretation in a randomized controlled study of dynamic psychotherapy

Abstract

Objective: To examine whether men and women respond differentially to brief dynamic psychotherapy, with or without transference interpretations.

Method: Data from the First Experimental Study of Transference Interpretation were used. Patients (n = 100) were randomized to receive 2 different dynamic psychotherapies during 1 year, with either a moderate level of transference interpretations or no transference interpretations. We used the following outcome measures: the Psychodynamic Functioning Scales, Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-Circumplex Version, Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), and total mean score of Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (Global Severity Index [GSI]). Change was assessed using linear-mixed models.

Results: On average, men and women responded equally across treatments. The moderator analyses, using the 2 secondary outcome measures, GAF and GSI, demonstrated that women responded better to therapy with transference interpretations, compared with men, whereas men responded better to therapy without transference interpretations, compared with women. When the moderator sex was combined with the moderator quality of object relations (QOR), a strong effect emerged: men with high QOR showed a large negative effect of transference interpretations, and women with low QOR showed a large positive effect.

Conclusions: In terms of symptom change, women responded better to therapy with transference interpretations, while men responded better to therapy without transference interpretations. Patient sex showed moderator effects over and above the moderator effects of QOR.

Clinical trial registration number: NCT00423462.