Defensive Functioning Among Women With Breast Cancer and Matched Community Controls

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Oncology
• Psychoanalysis

Background:

• The general theory of defense mechanisms links stress to lower defensive adaptation.
• Individuals with cancer may exhibit specific defenses like repression and denial.
• Previous research suggests cancer patients utilize immature defenses.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine defensive functioning in mothers with breast cancer (BC) compared to healthy controls.
• To test hypotheses regarding defense mechanisms in the context of BC.
• To compare the hierarchy of defensive adaptation between BC patients and a matched community sample.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study comparing women with BC to healthy mothers.
• Defense mechanisms were rated from interview transcripts using the Defense Mechanism Rating Scales (DMRS).
• Quantitative measures of symptoms and overall functioning were also collected.

Main Results:

• The BC group exhibited significantly lower overall defensive functioning (medium effect size).
• BC patients used more immature defenses (30.5% vs 21.4%) and fewer high adaptive/neurotic defenses.
• Specific defenses like denial and splitting were more prevalent in the BC group, while altruism and intellectualization were less common.

Conclusions:

• Findings largely support the theory linking stress, defensive functioning, and adaptation.
• Breast cancer diagnosis is associated with a shift towards less adaptive defense mechanisms.
• Future research should explore defense mechanisms across the cancer care continuum.