A Correlational Comparison of Defense Mechanism Measures: The Defense Mechanism Inventory and The Blacky Defense Preference Inventory

Abstract

The Defense Mechanism Inventory and the Blacky Defense Preference Inventory were developed to measure the relative intensity of specific ego defense mechanisms and share similar theoretical underpinnings and psychometric properties. In this study, however, only two significant correlations were found among 25 comparisons between the respective defense mechanism scales of these two assessment devices, Several hypotheses are advanced to account for the incongruity between these two multiple choice personality tests.