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The defense mechanism test-separation theme in two anxiety disorders
Anna Saya1, Bianca Pezzarossa, I Alex Rubino
1University of Rome-Tor Vergata.
Perceptual and Motor Skills
|February 25, 2010
Summary
This study found distinct defense mechanisms in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and agoraphobia. Agoraphobia was linked to viewing the mother as an object, while OCD was associated with viewing her entering or the baby as an angel.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
- Psychoanalysis
Background:
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and panic disorder with agoraphobia are distinct psychiatric conditions.
- Defense mechanisms play a crucial role in the manifestation and maintenance of psychological disorders.
- The Defense Mechanism Test (DMT) assesses unconscious defense strategies through thematic apperception.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate differences in defense mechanisms between patients diagnosed with OCD and those with panic disorder with agoraphobia.
- To explore the association between specific defense mechanisms, as measured by the DMT-Separation Theme, and these two disorders.
Main Methods:
- A comparative study involving two groups of 26 age- and sex-matched outpatients.
- Participants diagnosed with DSM-IV OCD or panic disorder with agoraphobia were administered the Defense Mechanism Test-Separation Theme.
- A tachistoscopic presentation of a separation stimulus (mother leaving a baby) was used, with participants describing their perceptions at increasing exposure durations.
Main Results:
- A statistically significant association was found between reports of the mother as an inanimate object (phobic repression) and agoraphobia.
- Reports of the mother entering the room or engaging in alternative actions (reaction formation) were associated with OCD.
- Reports of the baby as an angel (intellectualization) were also significantly associated with OCD.
Conclusions:
- Specific defense mechanisms are differentially associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder and panic disorder with agoraphobia.
- Phobic repression may be a key defense strategy in agoraphobia, while reaction formation and intellectualization are linked to OCD.
- These findings contribute to understanding the psychodynamic underpinnings of these distinct anxiety-related disorders.
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