Choice of defense mechanisms by Indian and white adolescents

An analysis of Defense Mechanism Inventory scores from Indian and white adolescents indicated some cultural differences. Differences between white, male-female performance scores were found in all five defense catagories. Differences between Indian, male-female performance scores were found for three of the five defense categories. Indian-white differences were found only for males and involved the two categories of turning against object and reversal. It was concluded that Indian child-rearing practices and culture may foster the development of reversal type defenses and inhibit the development of turning against object type defense within Indian males.