Does defense style vary with severity of mental disorder? An empirical assessment

Bond's Defense Style Questionnaire was administered to control subjects from the general population (n = 50) and to psychiatric outpatients with neurosis (n = 42), high-level personality disorder (n = 37) and low-level personality disorder (n = 22). Factor analysis yielded 4 defense styles ranging on a continuum from immature to mature; the reliabilities of the subscales as measured with Cronbach's alpha were adequate. Three of the styles - the mature, neurotic and immature - were similar to the styles in Bond's original study, but the fourth style consisted of items reflecting inhibition instead of omnipotence as in the original study. The level of defense maturity varied with severity of disorder. The construct and criterion validity of the measure are discussed.