Factor Analysis of the Rorschach in Three Groups of Adolescent Inpatients

The factor structure of the Rorschach inkblot test was examined using a sample of 268 adolescent inpatients (including I05 with conduct disorders and 105 with depressive disorders). An initial analysis found a four-factor solution for both the conduct-disordered and depressive-disordered groups. However, examination of the factor patterns suggested that these groups did not yield significantly different factor structures. Thus, for the final analysis all inpatients were combined, and a single three-factor solution was found. These factors were substantively similar to the initial analysis and were interpreted as consisting of (a) struggles with affective expression, (b) general psychological health, and (c) perceptual organization.