Defense styles from the perspective of affective neuroscience

To our knowledge, no study has been carried out to observe which subcortical basic affective systems are related to which defense styles. Such a perspective may have the potential to reveal how defenses may interact with subcortical primary emotional systems (PES) and how they contribute to affect regulation. We aimed to analyze the relationship of immature, neurotic, and mature defenses with basic subcortical affects (CARE, PLAY, SEEK, SADNESS, FEAR, ANGER) within an affective neuroscientific perspective. In addition, we sought to explore the effect of psychiatric disorders in relation to PES and defenses, and observe gender effects, if any. The sample consisted of 703 university students, recruited online. The materials included the Turkish translations of the Affective Neuroscience Personality Scales (ANPS) and the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ). The correlations between ANPS and DSQ showed that the immature defenses increase as all negative emotions increase, whereas mature defenses increase as all positive emotions (except CARE) increase and all negative affects decrease (except ANGER). On the other hand, as neurotic defenses increase, CARE, FEAR and SADNESS simultaneously increase. Subjects who reported the presence of psychiatric disorders also reported higher FEAR, SADNESS, ANGER accompanied by higher immature defenses. Finally, male subjects reported higher immature defenses, whereas the females reported higher neurotic defenses, accompanied by higher CARE, SEEK, SADNESS, FEAR, and slightly lower PLAY. Investigating defenses through the lens of affective neuroscience offers the opportunity to link the abstract concept of defenses to increasingly well-understood neurobiology.