{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,22]],"date-time":"2026-10-22T16:56:05Z","timestamp":1792688165743,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":18,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"3","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]],"date-time":"2026-08-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1786492800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":11,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,1]],"date-time":"2026-08-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785542400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Personality &amp;amp; Mental Health"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:p>Contemporary researchers tend to invoke psychoanalytic theories to support the view of personality functioning as a \u201cunitary capacity\u201d involving \u201cpsychological maturity.\u201d In this piece, I argue against this false equivalence by raising three points. First, I show that psychoanalysis is not a homogenous discipline that converged on a shared developmental ontology, but rather a deeply heterogenous tradition marked, if anything, by persistent disagreement. Second, I briefly review commonly\u2010cited psychoanalytic theories (including classic Freudian, ego psychological, and object relational theories) to illustrate how none of them supports the view of personality functioning as a \u201cunitary capacity.\u201d Third, I argue that the origins of the construct \u201cpersonality functioning\u201d are rooted more in descriptive empirical findings rather than traditional psychoanalytic perspectives. Finally, I conclude by suggesting that researchers should stop flattening psychoanalytic theory to support their \u201cunitary\u201d perspective and should instead conduct rigorous empirical tests to determine whether there is any merit in their otherwise theoretically empty viewpoint.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1002\/pmh.70095","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]],"date-time":"2026-08-12T11:50:13Z","timestamp":1786535413000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Psychoanalytic Theories Do Not Support a Unidimensional View of Personality Functioning"],"prefix":"10.1002","volume":"20","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3985-6346","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Orestis","family":"Zavlis","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Unit of Psychoanalysis University College London  London UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_5_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/00223891.2011.583808"},{"issue":"7","key":"e_1_2_5_3_1","first-page":"588","article-title":"Personality Stability and Change: A Meta\u2010Analysis of Longitudinal Studies","volume":"148","author":"Bleidorn W.","year":"2022","journal-title":"Psychological Bulletin"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/pspp0000593"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_5_1","volume-title":"Childhood and Society","author":"Erikson E. 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F.","year":"1975"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_14_1","volume-title":"Envy and Gratitude and Other Works 1946\u20131963","author":"Klein M.","year":"1975"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_15_1","volume-title":"Freud and Beyond: A History of Modern Psychoanalytic Thought","author":"Mitchell S. A.","year":"2016"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_16_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zavlis O.2026a. \u201cA Critical Examination of the General Factor of Personality Change.\u201d PsyArXiv.https:\/\/doi.org\/10.31234\/osf.io\/mf3r6_v1.","DOI":"10.31234\/osf.io\/mf3r6_v1"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_17_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zavlis O.2026b. \u201cFormalising and Testing Kernberg's Theory of Personality Organisation.\u201d PsyArXiv.https:\/\/doi.org\/10.31234\/osf.io\/kq5dg_v1.","DOI":"10.31234\/osf.io\/kq5dg_v1"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_18_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Zavlis O.2026c. \u201cIs Personality Functioning Unitary or Dialectic? A Dynamical Systems Analysis.\u201d PsyArXiv.https:\/\/doi.org\/10.31234\/osf.io\/4nezv_v1.","DOI":"10.31234\/osf.io\/4nezv_v1"},{"key":"e_1_2_5_19_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/pmh.70085"}],"container-title":["Personality and Mental Health"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1002\/pmh.70095","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/full-xml\/10.1002\/pmh.70095","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/pdf\/10.1002\/pmh.70095","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,19]],"date-time":"2026-08-19T02:58:25Z","timestamp":1787108305000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1002\/pmh.70095"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]},"references-count":18,"journal-issue":{"issue":"3","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1002\/pmh.70095"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/pmh.70095","archive":["Portico"],"relation":{},"ISSN":["1932-8621","1932-863X"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1932-8621","type":"print"},{"value":"1932-863X","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2026-07-09","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-08-06","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-08-12","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}],"article-number":"e70095"}}