[Defense mechanisms in soldiers during the period of adaptation to the military environment].

An important role during the adaptation period to the military service in the first three months have the defense mechanisms, which belong to the adaptive functioning of an organism. The aim of this study was to determine the defense mechanisms of soldiers in adaptation to the military environment. The sample consisted of 144 adapted (group A) and 400 nonadapted (group NA) soldiers. The applied instruments were: Social-demographic questionnaire and DSQ-40 (Defense Style Questionnaire--short form). The results of this study show that soldiers of NA group use immature defense mechanisms and soldiers of group A use mature defense mechanisms. A significant correlation existed between soldiers of groups A and NA in the use of: mature defense style (p < 0.01), humor (p < 0.005) and sublimation (p < 0.001). It was concluded that there was a relationship between maturity of defense mechanisms and level of adaptation to the military service and factors of the family environment.