Natural history of male psychological health: VI. Correlates of successful marriage and fatherhood.

The author examines the relationship between quality of object relations and health on the basis of data from a prospective 35-year follow-up of 95 men selected for health. Judges blind to other data made independent ratings of physical health at 52, childhood environment, psychopathology, and maturity of defenses. These ratings were highly correlated with independent ratings of high school social adjustment, adult friendship patterns, marital satisfaction, and outcome of children. The author speculates that the capacity for object relations may be a relatively stable dimension of adult personality--a continous that stretches from mature, generative mental health to schizophrenia.