Correlation of self defensive styles of isolated population and their cognition to risk with mental health

Shufang HU; Shuande LI; Laiqi YANG; Jiangping HE; Zihe DENG; Wentao MA

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND:

During the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome(SARS),certain people had been isolated by various reasons and appeared a series of psychological, physical and behavioral reactions.

OBJECTIVE:

To understand the different defensive features in people with different level of mental health in the isolated population, and explore the relationship between defensive style and mental health.

DESIGN:

An in investigative study taking the isolated population during outbreak of SARS as the subjects.

SETTING:

A psychiatric department of a military hospital.

PARTICIPANTS:

Totally 187 people of different sex,age and education, who were isolated during April and May 2003 due to SARS outbreak in a city of northwest China,were selected as the subjects.

INTERVENTIONS:

The 187 subjects,who were isolated due to SARS outbreak,were evaluated by using the symptom checklist(SCL 90) and defense style questionnaire(DSQ).

RESULTS:

About 36.4% people of this population had distinct mental or physical health problems that were characterized by anxiety,horror,depression,hostility and compulsion.There was difference in defensive styles between the high symptom group and low symptom group,among which the score of DSQ factors in the immature type of high and low symptom groups were 5.72± 1.56 and 4.35± 0.96 respectively while the scores in the intermediate type defense were 4.98± 1.44 and 3.72± 0.89 respectively(P< 0.01).Mental health problem was positively correlated with the application of immature defensive style,but had negative correlation with application of mature defensive means.

CONCLUSION:

There is difference in the defensive styles among the isolated people with different mental health status,and their defensive strategies are closely related to the mental health.