Eight Years of Follow-Up Study with Regard to Defense Mechanisms in Medical Students / 신경정신의학

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the changes in defense mechanisms in medical students as they progress towards becoming a doctor. METHODS: Ninety premedical students were enrolled from Soonchunhyang University. All subjects were evaluated at baseline, during their 6th year of medical school, during their 4th year as a practicing doctor by the Ewha defense Mechanisms Test which contained 20 defense mechanisms and 4 factors (unstable, narcissistic, self-negative, and avoidant). In the end, 60 subjects were included in the analysis. RESULTS: During the period from premedical student to medical doctor, the use of passive-aggressive, acting-out, displacement, somatization, dissociation, projection, denial, regression, and distortion decreased significantly. Also, there was a significant difference in the use of defense mechanisms from the time as a premedical student to a medical student. However, there was no significant difference in the period from medical student to medical doctor. CONCLUSION: We concluded that the use of unstable and avoidant defense scales decreased in the course of becoming a doctor from a premedical student, compared to mature or stable defense scales.