A Study on Defense Mechanisms and Level of Anxiety in Adolescents

Ego defense mechanisms are psychological processes that help us deal with anxiety as a consequence of being exposed to a stressful situation. These mechanisms assume a high level of importance especially in the assessment of people’s personality characteristics, their level of anxiety, depression, and other severe psychopathologies as well as the nature of coping mechanisms being employed by them. While defense mechanisms are thought to shelter our mind against thoughts, feelings, and desires that are too heavy to be dealt with by our conscious mind, their overuse or rather, long-term use can be extremely harmful leading to an absolute denial of reality. The present study aims to explore the correlation between the sort of defense mechanisms employed by adolescents (age range: 12 to 18 years) and their level of anxiety. To give some momentum to the same, a sample consisting of 50 adolescents (25 males and 25 females) was selected. Standardized scales that identify the categories under which the various defense mechanisms fall and measure the anxiety levels were administered to the participants. The results of the study revealed a significant positive relation between mature defense mechanisms and neurotic defense mechanisms as well as between immature defense mechanisms and neurotic defense mechanisms. Furthermore, the research has shown that there is a negative correlation, though not a significant one, between all types of defense systems and anxiety levels. The findings suggest that a variety of environmental and genetic factors, and perhaps even the form and type of defense systems, all have a role in defining one’s level of anxiety.