The longterm objective of this grant proposal is to understand age- related differences in defense mechanism use.
The specific aims for this pilot research are: 1) to explore further defense mechanism coder reliability; 2) to describe age-related differences in defense mechanism use; and 3) to assess the similarity of age-grouped defense profiles to the mature defense profile proposed by Vaillant (1977). Archived interview videotapes from an age-and-gender-stratified, population-based sample of normal cells will be used to meet these aims. The observationally-based Defense-Q has adequate reliability and validity to suggest that it overcomes some of the limitations of previous defense assessment instruments (Davidson & MacGregor, 1996; Davidson et al., 1997); Perry & Iannis, in press), and it will be used by three coders to collect defense profile information, and test for age-related differences in defense profile. This research will then contribute to the understanding of age-related differences in defense mechanism use, and will serve as pilot data for a future grant proposal to better understand the relation between defense use and health for differing age groups.
