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Integrative Psychological & Behavioral... Jun 2020The concept of defense mechanism is interwoven with psychoanalytic theories of anxiety and psychic conflict. From its first formulation in 1894, its usefulness resides...
The concept of defense mechanism is interwoven with psychoanalytic theories of anxiety and psychic conflict. From its first formulation in 1894, its usefulness resides in the degree to which it helps to explain otherwise mysterious phenomena. Statistical approaches to the study of defense mechanisms, which have significantly increased in popularity in the past three decades, test isolated assumptions without reflection on how these are integrated into psychoanalytic theory, nor on what should be regarded as psychoanalytic data. Consequently, their results and their models have not provided useful insights into psychoanalytic theory. This paper aims to show how these issues in statistical approaches largely stem from disregarding discussions on the ontological status of defense mechanisms and the epistemological consequences linked to them. Studying defense mechanisms as they are manifested in external lifestyles, clouds the distinction between constructs (explanatory terms) and phenomena (empirical referents), which is furthermore necessary for a theoretical model to have explanatory value. Concrete examples are given regarding problems in statistical conceptualizations of defense mechanisms as well as the cursory explanations these tend to describe. Implications for future research are discussed.
Topics: Defense Mechanisms; Humans; Psychoanalysis; Psychoanalytic Theory
PubMed: 31955367
DOI: 10.1007/s12124-020-09515-6 -
The Journal of the American Academy of... Sep 2020This study aimed to examine the associations between countertransference induced by sex offenders, defense mechanisms, and manifestations of vicarious trauma in forensic...
This study aimed to examine the associations between countertransference induced by sex offenders, defense mechanisms, and manifestations of vicarious trauma in forensic psychiatrists and psychologists. A cross-sectional study using a mixed-methods design was performed with 56 Brazilian forensic psychiatrists and psychologists from October 2016 to May 2017. Countertransference, defense mechanisms, and vicarious trauma were assessed with the Assessment of Countertransference Scale, the Defense Style Questionnaire-40, and the Trauma and Attachment Belief Scale (TABS), respectively. Qualitative data analysis based on grounded theory was also performed to explore the influence of sex-offender assessments on the experts' personal and professional lives. Positive and moderate correlations were found between feelings of indifference and the Other-Safety TABS subscale (rho .43, < .01) and between immature defense mechanisms and TABS total score (rho .45, < .01). Qualitative data revealed changes in the professionals' identity, worldview, and beliefs related to safety and trust. Specific maladaptive coping strategies, such as feelings of indifference and immature defenses, during the assessment of sex offenders were associated with manifestations of vicarious trauma in forensic psychiatrists and psychologists. These findings indicate the need for awareness and care about the forensic expert's mental health.
Topics: Adult; Brazil; Compassion Fatigue; Countertransference; Criminals; Cross-Sectional Studies; Defense Mechanisms; Female; Forensic Psychiatry; Forensic Psychology; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Psychotherapists; Qualitative Research; Sex Offenses
PubMed: 32404359
DOI: 10.29158/JAAPL.003925-20 -
Scientific Reports Aug 2023Improving agricultural products by the stimulation of plant growth and defense mechanisms by priming with plant extracts is needed to attain sustainability in...
Improving agricultural products by the stimulation of plant growth and defense mechanisms by priming with plant extracts is needed to attain sustainability in agriculture. This study focused to consider the possible improvement in Vigna radiata L. seed germination rate, plant growth, and protection against the natural stress by increasing the defense mechanisms through the incorporation of Sesamum indicum phytochemical compounds with pre-sowing seed treatment technologies. The gas chromatography coupled with mass spectroscopy (GC-MS) analysis revealed that the methanol extract of S. indicum leaf extract contained eight major bioactive compounds, namely, 2-ethylacridine (8.24%), tert-butyl (5-isopropyl-2-methylphenoxy) dimethylsilane (13.25%), tris(tert-butyldimethylsilyloxy) arsane (10.66%), 1,1,1,3,5,5,5-heptamethyltrisiloxane (18.50%), acetamide, N-[4-(trimethylsilyl) phenyl (19.97%), 3,3-diisopropoxy-1,1,1,5,5,5-hexamethyltrisiloxane (6.78%), silicic acid, diethyl bis(trimethylsilyl) ester (17.71%) and cylotrisiloxane, hexamethyl-(4.89%). The V. radiata seeds were treated with sesame leaf extract seeds at concentrations 0, 10, 25, 50, and 100 mg/L. Sesame leaf extract at 50 and 100 mg/L concentrations was effective in increasing the germination percentage and the fresh and dry weights of roots and shoots. The increased peroxidase activity was noticed after treatment with S. indicum extract. In addition, disease percentage (< 60%) of both fungal pathogens (Rhizoctonia and Macrophomina) was significantly reduced in V. radiata plants treated with 100 mg/L of sesame leaf extract. These results revealed that physiochemical components present in S. indicum mature leaf extract significantly enhanced growth and defense mechanism in green gram plants.
Topics: Rhizoctonia; Sesamum; Vigna; Agriculture; Ascomycota; Cortodoxone; Defense Mechanisms
PubMed: 37620354
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39660-y -
Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) Dec 2021Weight stigma is associated with impaired health, attributed in part to reductions in health-promoting behaviors. This review analyzed evidence of the association... (Review)
Review
OBJECTIVE
Weight stigma is associated with impaired health, attributed in part to reductions in health-promoting behaviors. This review analyzed evidence of the association between weight stigma and physical activity (PA) in adults and youth.
METHODS
Three databases were searched for terms related to weight stigma and PA. Eligible studies reported the quantitative association between at least one measure of weight stigma and one behavioral measure of PA.
RESULTS
A total of 38 studies met eligibility criteria. Of the 29 studies of adults, 3 used objective PA measures, and 79% used an observational, cross-sectional design. Findings of the relationship between weight stigma and PA were mixed. Everyday weight discrimination and internalizing weight stigma were associated with reduced PA in most studies. Several studies found indirect, and not direct, effects of weight stigma on PA when analyses included other individual-level factors. In the nine studies of youth, two used objective PA measures, all were observational, and only one study was longitudinal. Most youth studies found a relationship between weight-based teasing and reduced PA.
CONCLUSIONS
Weight teasing, everyday discrimination, and internalization were associated with reduced PA. However, associations were inconsistent and often indirect. Future studies should include objective PA measures with larger samples and longitudinal assessments.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Cross-Sectional Studies; Databases, Factual; Defense Mechanisms; Exercise; Humans; Social Stigma; Weight Prejudice
PubMed: 34747131
DOI: 10.1002/oby.23274 -
Journal of Affective Disorders Jan 2021Accumulating evidence has converged to suggest that childhood trauma may contribute to bipolar disorder (BD). This study aimed to investigate the patterns of childhood...
BACKGROUND
Accumulating evidence has converged to suggest that childhood trauma may contribute to bipolar disorder (BD). This study aimed to investigate the patterns of childhood trauma among patients with bipolar I (BD-I) and bipolar II (BD-II) disorders, according to DSM-IV and in contrast with healthy volunteers. We also explored whether the relationship between childhood trauma and onset of bipolar disorder is mediated by immature defense mechanisms.
METHODS
Participants were patients with BD-I (n=44) and BD-II (n = 42), and healthy controls (HCs, n = 43). Childhood traumatic experiences and defense mechanisms were assessed by the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ), respectively.
RESULTS
BD patients experienced more severe childhood trauma than HCs. Physical neglect sub-score and total score of the CTQ had both direct and indirect effects on the diagnosis of BD-I, and an immature defense style mediated the indirect effects. The diagnosis of BD-II was mainly related to the physical neglect and emotional abuse subs-core and total score of the CTQ, as mediated by the immature defense mechanisms. BD-I and BD-II significantly differed in the emotional abuse sub-score of the CTQ.
CONCLUSIONS
Physical neglect sub-score and total score of the CTQ were associated with the diagnosis of BD (both BD-I and BD-II), as mediated by an immature defense style. Furthermore, emotional abuse might be an important risk factor for BD-II compared to BD-I. These findings may inform risk reduction and psychosocial intervention strategies to prevent and treat patients with bipolar disorders.
Topics: Adult Survivors of Child Abuse; Bipolar Disorder; Child; Child Abuse; Defense Mechanisms; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; Humans; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 33125910
DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.10.029 -
Environmental Research Nov 2023The wide use of antibiotics in aquaculture has triggered global ecological security issue. Microalgal bioremediation is a promising strategy for antibiotics elimination...
The wide use of antibiotics in aquaculture has triggered global ecological security issue. Microalgal bioremediation is a promising strategy for antibiotics elimination due to carbon recovery, detoxification and various ecological advantages. However, a lack of understanding with respect to the corresponding regulation mechanism towards antibiotic stress may limit its practical applicability. The microalga Scenedesmus obliquus was shown to be capable of effectively eliminating ciprofloxacin (CIP), which is a common antibiotic used in aquaculture. However, the corresponding transcriptional alterations require further investigation and verification at the metabolomic level. Thus, this study uncovered the metabolomic profiles and detailed toxic and defense mechanisms towards CIP in S. obliquus using untargeted metabolomics. The enhanced oligosaccharide/polyol/lipid transport, up-regulation of carbohydrate and arachidonic acid metabolic pathways and increased energy production via EMP metabolism were observed as defense mechanisms of microalgal cells to xenobiotic CIP. The toxic metabolic responses included: (1) down-regulation of parts of mineral and organic transporters; (2) electrons competition between antibiotic and NAD during intracellular CIP degradation; and (3) suppressed expression of the hem gene in chlorophyll biosynthesis. This study describes the metabolic profile of microalgae during CIP elimination and reveals the key pathways from the perspective of metabolism, thereby providing information on the precise regulation of antibiotic bioremediation via microalgae.
PubMed: 37625537
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.116974 -
Neuropharmacology Nov 2020The glutamatergic lateral hypothalamus (LH) has been implicated in a variety of behaviors, such as evasion and feeding, while its role in defensive behaviors and...
The glutamatergic lateral hypothalamus (LH) has been implicated in a variety of behaviors, such as evasion and feeding, while its role in defensive behaviors and relevant neurocircuits remains unclear. Here, we demonstrated that the glutamatergic LH is a critical structure regulating defensive behaviors. Trimethylthiazole (TMT), the odor of mice predator, significantly increased c-Fos expression in the LH. Using fiber photometry technology, we found that TMT exposure increased the activity of LH glutamatergic neurons. Selective activation of LH glutamatergic neurons with optogenetics and chemogenetics promoted a series of defense-related behaviors, including fleeing, avoidance, and hiding, while selective inhibition of LH glutamatergic neurons suppressed the avoidance provoked by TMT. Activation of both the glutamatergic LH terminals in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and the glutamatergic projection from the basolateral amygdala (BLA) to the LH elicited defensive behaviors. Finally, by combining the viral-mediated retrograde tracing with anterograde activation, we found that PVN-projecting glutamatergic neurons in the LH were activated by BLA glutamatergic inputs. Taken together, our results illustrate that the glutamatergic LH is a pivotal relay of defensive behaviors and possibly promotes these behaviors through the BLA→LH→PVN pathway.
Topics: Animals; Avoidance Learning; Defense Mechanisms; Glutamic Acid; Hypothalamic Area, Lateral; Male; Mice; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Optogenetics
PubMed: 32771529
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2020.108239 -
International Journal of Environmental... Oct 2022Emotion regulation is an important aspect of psychological functioning that influences subjective experience and moderates emotional responses throughout the lifetime....
Emotion regulation is an important aspect of psychological functioning that influences subjective experience and moderates emotional responses throughout the lifetime. Adaptive responses to stressful life events depend on the positive interaction between explicit and implicit emotion regulation strategies, such as mindfulness and defense mechanisms. This study demonstrates how these emotion regulation strategies predict psychological health during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. A convenience sample of 6385 subjects, recruited via snowball sampling on various social media platforms, responded to an online survey assessing psychological reaction to social restrictions imposed to limit the spread of COVID-19 in Italy. Psychological distress, post-traumatic stress symptoms, mindfulness, and defense mechanisms were assessed using SCL-90, IES-R, MAAS, and DMRS-30-SR, respectively. Higher mindfulness was significantly associated with higher overall defensive maturity and a greater use of high-adaptive defenses ( < 0.0001). Both mindfulness and defense mechanisms acted as good predictors of psychological health (R = 0.541) and posttraumatic symptoms (R = 0.332), confirming the role of emotion regulation in protecting against maladaptive responses to stressful situations.
Topics: COVID-19; Defense Mechanisms; Emotional Regulation; Humans; Mindfulness; Pandemics; Psychological Distress
PubMed: 36231993
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph191912690 -
Research in Psychotherapy (Milano) Dec 2023Defense mechanisms are adaptative processes that are related to mental health and psychological functioning and may play an important role in adaptation to distress, as...
Defense mechanisms are adaptative processes that are related to mental health and psychological functioning and may play an important role in adaptation to distress, as well as in mental health interventions. The present study aimed to compare the use of defense mechanisms and their relationship to mental health symptoms across six countries. In a large-scale descriptive study, we collected data from community- based individuals (N=19,860) in the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom about the use of defense mechanisms and experienced mental health symptoms during the early phase of the pandemic. We found that the use of defense mechanism categories was similar across countries. Moreover, lower defensive functioning, specifically, neurotic and immature defenses were related to experiencing higher distress across countries, whereas mature defenses were generally inversely related to symptoms. Furthermore, these findings were relatively similar across the six countries. Cross-cultural research on defense mechanisms and mental health has important clinical implications. Our results are consistent with the goal of promoting more adaptive defensive functioning to increase psychological well-being and mitigate the detrimental impact of situational stress.
PubMed: 38226792
DOI: 10.4081/ripppo.2023.729 -
AMA Journal of Ethics Jul 2021Tension between naming to render an important kind of suffering among transgender people more visible and avoiding pathologizing experiences of transgender people in a...
Tension between naming to render an important kind of suffering among transgender people more visible and avoiding pathologizing experiences of transgender people in a gender-binary world can be keenly felt among patients seeking gender-affirming services. This article suggests why clinical "verification" of a patient's need for gender-affirming care is likely less important than clinicians' expressions of empathy and respect for patients' autonomy. This article also suggests that fostering transgender patients' sense of agency should be prioritized.
Topics: Emotions; Gender Dysphoria; Gender Identity; Humans; Transgender Persons; Transsexualism
PubMed: 34351266
DOI: 10.1001/amajethics.2021.557