Defense mechanisms in students under stress

Abstract

This empirical study deals with the conditions of psychological discomfort in 60 students in traumatic stress situations and with the role of defense in the overcoming of a psychological trauma. The data was elicited using the questionnaire Traumatic events and emotional conditions in stress situations, the traumatic stress questionnaire, and the Life Style Index questionnaire on defense. The data show that different defenses are of different efficiency in solving internal and external conflicts, and that their influence on the health of an individual is negative. The author discovers the role of defenses in forming and developing post-stress dysfunction.