Results

A correlational analysis will be used to analyze the hypothsis #1: It is predicted that maladaptive defense mechanisms will have a significant positive relationship with personality traits, and adaptive defense mechanisms will have a significant negative relationship with personality traits.

	Maladaptive	Image-Distorting	Self-Sacrificing	Adaptive
Paranoid	+	+		-
Schizoid	+		+	-
Schizotypal	+	+		-
Antisocial	+			-
Borderline	+	+		-
Histrionic	+	+		-
Narcissistic	+	+		-
Avoidant	+			-
Dependent	+		+	-
Obsessive-Compulsive	+		+	-
Passive-Aggressive	+			-
Sadistic	+			-
Self-Defeating	+			-

A series of independent t-tests will be performed to analyze hypothesis #2: It is predicted that particiapnts with at least one diagnosable personality disorder will report more, or higher levels of, maladaptive defense mechanisms than particiapnts without a diagnosable personality disorders.

	With Personality Disorder	Without Personality Disorder
Maladaptive	HIGHER	LOWER
Image-Distorting	HIGHER	LOWER
Self-Sacrificing	HIGHER	LOWER
Adaptive	LOWER	HIGHER

A series of independent t-tests will be performed to analyze hypothesis #3: It is predicted that older adults will have significantly more, or higher levels of adaptive defense mechanisms whereas younger adults will have significantly more, or higher levels of maladaptive defense mechanisms.

	OLDER	YOUNGER
Maladaptive	HIGHER	LOWER
Image-Distorting	HIGHER	LOWER
Self-Sacrificing
Adaptive	LOWER	HIGHER

A correlational analysis will be done to assess hypothesis #4: It is predicted that maladaptive defense mechanisms will have a significant positive relationship with levels of current stress whereas adaptive defense mechanisms will have a significant negative negative relationship with levels of current stress.

	PSS
Maladaptive	+
Image-Distorting	+
Self-Sacrificing
Adaptive	-

RESULTS

A correlational analysis will be used to analyze the hypothsis #1: It is predicted that maladaptive defense mechanisms will have a significant positive relationship with personality traits, and adaptive defense mechanisms will have a significant negative relationship with personality traits.

Maladaptive

Image-Distorting

Self-Sacrificing

Adaptive

Paranoid

+

+

-

Schizoid

+

+

-

Schizotypal

+

+

-

Antisocial

+

-

Borderline

+

+

-

Histrionic

+

+

-

Narcissistic

+

+

-

Avoidant

+

-

Dependent

+

+

-

Obsessive-Compulsive

+

+

-

Passive-Aggressive

+

-

Sadistic

+

-

Self-Defeating

+

-

A series of independent t-tests will be performed to analyze hypothesis #2: It is predicted that particiapnts with at least one diagnosable personality disorder will report more, or higher levels of, maladaptive defense mechanisms than particiapnts without a diagnosable personality disorders.

With Personality Disorder

Without Personality Disorder

Maladaptive

HIGHER

LOWER

Image-Distorting

HIGHER

LOWER

Self-Sacrificing

HIGHER

LOWER

Adaptive

LOWER

HIGHER

A series of independent t-tests will be performed to analyze hypothesis #3: It is predicted that older adults will have significantly more, or higher levels of adaptive defense mechanisms whereas younger adults will have significantly more, or higher levels of maladaptive defense mechanisms.