Defense Mechanisms as Diagnostic Criteria for Personality Disorders: A Review
Date of Award
Winter 2025
Document Type
Doctoral Research Paper
Degree Name
Psy.D.
Organizational Unit
Graduate School of Professional Psychology
First Advisor
Laura Meyer
Second Advisor
Shelly Smith-Acuna
Third Advisor
Joshua Burg
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
All Rights Reserved.
Keywords
Defense mechanisms, Levels of personality pathology, Personality disorders
Abstract
Defense mechanisms are psychological processes that individuals automatically and unconsciously employ to protect themselves from awareness of anxiety, internal stress, and external stress. Defense mechanisms play an integral role in psychoanalytic understanding of personality, though they are not currently included in the diagnostic criteria for personality disorders as defined by the current Diagnostic and Statistics Manual, the DSM-5-TR. The purpose of this literature review is to address several questions in attempts to determine if the DSM should devote a task group to evaluate the inclusion of defense mechanisms as a diagnostic addition for personality disorders. This review found important connections between specific personality disorders and defense mechanisms; however, current shifts towards a dimensional paradigm of diagnosing personality disorders presents challenges in drawing direct links between defenses and specific personality disorders, and for this reason defense mechanisms may initially be better utilized as informing levels of personality organization. In this regard, there are clear connections between immature defense use and levels of personality pathology. The inclusion of a hierarchy of defenses in the AMPD would allow for further facilitation of research on the relationship between defensive adaptiveness and levels of personality pathology.
Copyright Date
11-5-2024
Publication Statement
Copyright is held by the author. Permanently suppressed.
Rights Holder
Marcel Rashyde
Provenance
Received from author
File Format
application/pdf
Language
English (eng)
Extent
45 pgs
File Size
326 KB
Recommended Citation
Rashyde, Marcel, "Defense Mechanisms as Diagnostic Criteria for Personality Disorders: A Review" (2025). Graduate School of Professional Psychology: Doctoral Papers and Masters Projects. 546.
https://digitalcommons.du.edu/capstone_masters/546
