Construct validity of the Rorschach Oral Dependency (ROD) scale: Relationship of ROD scores to WAIS-R score in a psychiatric inpatient sample

Three-hundred and two psychiatric inpatients (166 women and 136 men) completed Masling, Rabie, and Blondheim's Rorschach Oral Dependency (ROD) Scale and the Weschler Adult Intelligence Scale Revised (WAIS-R). As predicted, ROD scale scores were unrelated to WAIS-R scores in subjects of either sex. These findings support the discriminant validity of the ROD scale as a measure of interpersonal dependency, and suggest that deficits in intellectual ability do not underlie the dependency-related behaviors (e. g., suggestibility, conformity, interpersonal yielding) that are associated with high scores on the ROD scale. Implications of these findings for research on the dependency-academic performance relationship are discussed, and suggestions for future studies assessing the convergent and discriminant validity of the ROD scale are offered.