Long protocols to Rorschach Comprehensive System and a posteriori reduction of number of responses: What is the impact on the clinical interpretation ?

Our study was interested in the exceptionally long protocols, superior to 55 answers, supplied by five subjects in the test of Rorschach according to the method of the Comprehensive System. In order to gain understanding of which attitude to adopt in front of this kind of protocol, we made a a posteriori reduction of the number of answers by basing us on the recommendations of Exner (Exner, on 2001), then a comparative study between the clinical interpretation realized with all of the answers and with only the first five answers by board. We also replicate this methodology of a posteriori decrease of the number of answers with four answers by board according to the new recommendations of the system R-PAS of Meyer and al. (Meyer and al, on 2009). The sample consists of three raw coal subjects and two psychiatric subjects. Our analysis highlighted a stability of certain variables (EB, Lambda, EA for example) but a difference in the psychological profile of the subjects after reduction. We observed a clarification of the fundamental difficulties to the psychiatric subjects and rather a neutralization of these difficulties for the raw coal subjects, with particularly defence mechanisms which seem more adapted. In our sample, the consideration of all of the answers or only of the partial protocol thus brings a difference in the clinical interpretation ; as a consequence any reduction should be made with big caution. Our study allows to discuss current practices of the test of Rorschach, by looking for a compromise between the inherent constraints to the validity of the test and the questions of the clinical complexity decrease appropriate to any initiative of standardization.