<sec><title>Objective</title> Mindfulness disposition is associated with various psychological factors and prevents emotional distress in chronic diseases. In the present study, we analyzed key role of mindfulness dispositions protecting individual against consequent to COVID-19 social distancing quarantining. </sec><sec><title>Methods</title> An online survey was launched on March 13, 2020, 6,412 responses by April 6, 2020. Socio-demographic information, exposure pandemic, quarantining were...

Background: Emerging aspects of the Covid-19 clinical presentation are its long-term effects, which characteristic so-called “long COVID”. The aim present study was to investigate prevalence physical, psychological, and sleep disturbances quality life in general population during ongoing pandemic. Methods: This study, based on an online survey, collected demographic data, information related COVID-19, disturbances, data from 507 individuals. level assessed through Insomnia Severity Index...

The experience of working on the frontlines COVID-19 healthcare crisis has presented a cumulative traumatic that affects professionals’ well-being. Psychological resources such as resilience and adaptive defense mechanisms are essential in protecting individuals from severe stress burnout. During September 2020, 233 workers responded to an online survey test impact demographic variables, exposure, psychological determining burnout during emergency. Frontline reported higher scores for...

Scientific understanding about the psychological impact of COVID-19 global pandemic is in its nascent stage. Prior research suggests that demographic factors, such as gender and age, are associated with greater distress during a health crisis. Less known how emotion regulation impacts levels pandemic. The present study aimed to identify predictors Participants (N = 2,787) provided demographics, history adverse childhood experiences, current coping strategies (use implicit explicit...

Italy was the first European country severely hit by COVID-19 pandemic. While containment measures were relatively effective in acute phase, current postemergency phase addressing long-term psychosocial consequences is key challenge for our healthcare system, where importance of mental health prevention not sufficiently recognized. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Pandemics and government-mandated quarantining measures have a substantial impact on mental health. This study investigated the psychological of COVID-19 crisis Italian residents during first week government-imposed lockdown role defense mechanisms as protective factors against distress. In this cross-sectional study, 5,683 Italians responded to an online survey assessing socio-demographics, overall distress, post-traumatic symptoms, using validated Symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90; Derogatis,...

The psychodynamic concept of defense mechanisms is nowadays considered by professionals with various theoretical orientations great importance in the understanding human development and psychological functioning. More than half century empirical research has demonstrated impact defensive functioning well-being, personality organization treatment process-outcome. Despite availability a large number measures for their evaluation, only few instruments assess whole hierarchy defenses, based on...

Defense mechanisms are adaptative processes that related to mental health and psychological functioning may play an important role in adaptation distress, as well interventions. The present study aimed compare the use of defense their relationship symptoms across six countries. In a large-scale descriptive study, we collected data from community- based individuals (N=19,860) United States, Australia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Kingdom about experienced during early phase pandemic. We found...

Defense mechanisms are psychological factors that influence emotional distress and quality of life. There a number measures assessing the construct defense mechanisms, but only few available instruments reflect gold-standard theoretical hierarchical organization defenses. We report on development novel 30 item self-report questionnaire, DMRS-SR-30, based parent instrument, Mechanism Rating Scales (DMRS). This study tested preliminary reliability validity Italian version DMRS-SR-30. first...

Mentalizing capacities depends on the quality of primary attachment interactions with caregivers who thinks child as a subject mental states. Operationalized reflective functioning, mentalization is crucial for regulating emotions and developing coherent sense identity, interacting individuals making to own others states, distinguishing internal external realities without distortions. Although clinical literature interplay between mentalization, attachment, emotional regulation rich,...

Abstract The present study focused on demographic and personality differences in the use of 30 defense mechanisms adolescents with psychopathology explored hierarchical organization traits based adaptiveness defensive functioning. A total 102 self-referred adolescent outpatients were interviewed assessed using Defense Mechanisms Rating Scales Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure 200 for Adolescents, respectively. Age gender found throughout hierarchy. Pearson's correlations revealed a...

Psychological resources, such as defense mechanism and mindfulness practice, can mediate the individual reaction to traumatic experiences ongoing COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. A novel self-reported measure based on DMRS (DMRS-SR-30), has been developed with aim of assessing potential adaptive defensive strategies against experience COVID-19. Preliminary validation DMRS-SR-30 showed good internal consistency in both overall functioning subscales. Combining mechanisms practice could prevent...

OPINION article Front. Psychol., 28 January 2021 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.635708

Eating disorders (EDs) are difficult to treat in psychotherapy due their pervasive symptomatology and frequent rapid relapses. Restrictive anorexia nervosa (AN) is the most challenging ED, often associated with severe physical mental conditions. Perceived as an ego-syntonic syndrome that somehow protects patient from a number of developmental tasks, treating AN requires extensive multidisciplinary long-term intervention. As other emotion regulation strategies, defense mechanisms mediate...

The commentaries by Cirasola (2025) and Kigin Hembree-Kigin on the comparison case study of a successful unsuccessful treatment Regulation-Focused Psychotherapy for Children (RFP-C; Brooks et al., 2025) explore ways to extend depth breadth child psychotherapy research; highlight importance therapeutic alliance offer alternative perspectives externalizing behaviors. notes concepts regarding selection in comparative studies, crucial role interviewers when obtaining interview data, offers...

Regulation Focused Psychotherapy for Children (RFP-C) is a manualized, time-limited, psychodynamic approach children who experience challenges with emotion regulation and demonstrate externalizing behavior problems (Hoffman et al., 2016). In research settings, it takes place over ten weeks includes 16 sessions the child four child’s parents. This protocol can be extended or modified in regular clinical practice. The current study utilized dual case method to analyze pretreatment...

This report focuses on the need to provide clinicians with a reliable and valid measure for detecting patient defense mechanisms "inside psychotherapy." To avoid limitations of existing methods, we designed Q-sort based theoretical definitions criteria Defense Mechanisms Rating Scales (DMRS-Q), but one that does not require transcripts clinical interviews or sessions may be applied without specific training defenses. The DMRS-Q is sensitive changes in psychotherapy its scores correlate...

Background: Defensive functioning is related to overall mental and personality traits in adults but only few studies investigated the role of defenses adolescence. The present study analyzed use defense mechanisms clinical adolescents test how defensive age, gender, traits.Design: 102 self-referred outpatients were interviewed using Clinical Diagnostic Interview (CDI). Defense profile assessed Mechanisms Rating Scale (DMRS) Shedler-Westen Assessment Procedure-200 for Adolescence (SWAP-200-A)...

Objectives : Stressful life events (SLEs) are common in patients who developed both physical and psychological syndromes. Research shown the role of defense mechanisms cancer progression survival probability. The present study analyzed recent SLEs as characteristic tested their potential predisposing factors to development. Methods This cross-sectional enrolled 145 participants: 48 recently diagnosed (CP), 43 benign tumor (BT), 54 healthy subjects (HC). Non-blinded raters assessed...

Assessment of defense mechanisms has a longstanding history within the clinical psychology and psychopathology literature. Despite their centrality to practice, there are few self-report measures that assess defenses and, those do exist, have limitations in addressing individual levels defensive functioning. To address this need, we investigated psychometric properties Defense Mechanisms Rating Scale - Self-Report 30 item (DMRS-SR-30) with global, community sample 1,539 participants who...

Emotion regulation is an important aspect of psychological functioning that influences subjective experience and moderates emotional responses throughout the lifetime. Adaptive to stressful life events depend on positive interaction between explicit implicit emotion strategies, such as mindfulness defense mechanisms. This study demonstrates how these strategies predict health during early phase COVID-19 pandemic. A convenience sample 6385 subjects, recruited via snowball sampling various...