Defense style and family environment
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 30, 2026

The Other End of the Leash: An Experimental Test to Analyze How Owners Interact with Their Pet Dogs
Published on: October 13, 2017
M Thienemann1, R J Shaw, H Steiner
1Stanford University School of Medicine, CA, USA.
Abstract:
Prospective observations of the defense styles of normal individuals suggest that the quality of the childhood family environment may influence the maturity of defense styles used in adulthood. In this study, 106 female adolescent psychiatric patients completed the Defense Style Questionnaire, and the Family Environment Scale (FES). Positive family characteristics such as cohesion and expressiveness, as measured by the FES, were correlated with the report of Mature Defenses. Negative family characteristics such as conflict were correlated with the report of Immature Defenses. Similar although weaker correlations were found after controlling for the effects of depression and defensiveness on the self-report measures.
Related Concept Videos
Parenting Styles
Authoritarian Parenting
This style is strict and controlling, with little room for open dialogue. Authoritarian parents demand obedience and often enforce rules with minimal warmth. Children raised this way may lack social skills and initiative, usually comparing themselves to others unfavorably.
Authoritative Parenting
This...
Family Therapy
Strategic Family Therapy
Strategic family therapy emphasizes resolving communication barriers and improving problem-solving abilities...
Relationship with Parents: Attachment
Sources of Self-Esteem I: Family Experience
Adler's Individual Psychology
Attachment Styles