Defense Mechanisms and Self-Reported Violence Toward Partners and Strangers

Abstract

We examined the relationship between defense mechanisms and self-reported violence toward partners and toward strangers in a sample of college student men. Fifty men completed the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT; Murray, 1943) and the Conflict Tactics Scale (CTS; Straus, 1979), a self-report measure of strategies (including violence) for resolving conflicts with partners and strangers. The TAT responses were coded for defense mechanisms with the Defense Mechanisms Manual (Cramer, 1991b). The relative use of identification was negatively correlated (r = -.49, p < .001), and the relative use of projection was positively correlated (r = .49, p < .001) with the most extreme CTS report of violence toward partners. The relative use of identification was negatively correlated with the most extreme CTS report of violence toward strangers (r = -.34, p < .05). The relative use of denial was positively correlated with the most extreme CTS report of violence toward strangers (r = .32, p < .05).