Developmental aspects of psychological defenses: their relation to self-complexity, self-perception, and symptomatology in adolescents.

This study investigated developmental aspects of psychological defenses in relation to self-complexity, self-perception, and symptomatology through a comparison of two groups of adolescents characterized by defense maturity level (i.e., immature versus mature defenses). The Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ-78), the Self-Complexity Inventory (SCI), the Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents, and the Youth Self Report behavior checklist (YSR) were completed by 79 high school students ranging in age from 15 to 18 years. Subjects were characterized as either employing predominantly mature or immature defensive strategies based on median splits of the two defense factors. Dependent variables included the Self-Complexity Inventory, The Youth Self Report and the Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents. The mature defense group (N = 26) reported significantly higher self-complexity than the immature defense group (N = 26), supporting a developmental approach to defense mechanisms. In general, mature defense mechanisms seem to be more adaptive in late adolescence than immature defenses as indicated by higher global self-worth and fewer internalizing and externalizing symptoms. The findings lend support to the developmental approach to the self and highlight the importance of examining psychological indices of development independent of chronological age.