ABSTRACT
Objective: To evaluate the defense mechanisms most frequently used by Chinese patients with panic disorder.Methods: Forty-seven panic patients with or without agoraphobia,and thirty-senven controls participated in the study.The Hamilton Depression Scale(HAMD,Hamilton Anxiety Scale(HAMA) and global assessment function(GAF) were applied to assess the severity of depression and anxiety symptoms and social and occupational function,respectively.Defensive Style Questionnaire(DSQ-88) was used to evaluate defense mechanisms.Results: Compared with controls,panic patients had higher scores in projection,splitting,regression,somatization and total scores of immature defenses and higher scores in idealization,pseudo-altruism,omnipotence-devaluation,attiliation and total scores of neurotic defenses(P