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Relations between quality of life and defence structure were investigated in a group of patients with serious psychosomatic conditions. Differences in defence structure between these patients (n = 48) and a randomly selected group (n = 43) were likewise studied, as well as between a subgroup of the psychosomatic patients (n = 25) and a group of stroke patients (n = 100). Use was made of LGC (Lifequality Gerontology Centre), a questionnarie measuring ten different quality of life factors, and the MCT (Metacontrast Technique), a perceptgenetic test assessing the use of different psychological defense mechanisms.
The psychosomatic patients showed stronger signs on the MCT of the defense mechanisms of regression, isolation and depression than the control subjects. The control subjects showed stronger signs of repression than the psychosomatic patients. The psychosomatic patients tested with LGC were found to experience a lower quality of life than the stroke patients. For the psychosomatic patients, relations between various defence mechanisms and certain quality of life factors could be shown. The special problems of psychosomatic patients are discussed in terms of the results obtained.