Do defense mechanisms vary according to the psychiatric disorder?

The aim of this study was to evaluate the defense mechanisms used by depressive and anxious patients without comorbidities compared to those used by controls and to determine whether these patterns differ between diagnoses.

The sample was composed of 167 psychiatric patients and 36 controls that were evaluated using the Defense Style Questionnaire 40. All subjects were evaluated through a clinical interview, and each evaluation was confirmed through the application of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview, a structured psychiatric interview. We used ANOVA and discriminant analysis to assess differences between groups.

Neurotic defense mechanisms discriminated controls from all patients except those with social anxiety. Immature defense mechanisms differentiated controls from all patients, as well as distinguished depressive patients from panic disorder and obsessive disorder patients. The discriminant analysis indicated that depressive patients are characterized by projection, panic disorder patients by sublimation and obsessive-compulsive patients by acting out.

Depressive and anxious patients differ from other individuals in their use of defense mechanisms, and each diagnosis has a particular pattern. These findings could lead to the development of specific psychotherapeutic interventions.