Denial and overcompensation in male patients with myocardial infarction. An explorative study of the measurement of defense mechanisms by interpersonal comparison

• Published in: Psychotherapy and psychosomatics Vol. 47; no. 1; p. 22
• Main Authors: Trijsburg, R W, Erdman, R A, Duivenvoorden, H J, Thiel, J H, Verhage, F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland 1987
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Defense Mechanisms; Denial (Psychology); Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Myocardial Infarction - psychology; Psychological Tests
• ISSN: 0033-3190
• DOI: 10.1159/000287994

In psychoanalytic literature it is asserted that in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) the period prior to the infarction is characterized by denial of resentment, dependency, anxiety and vital exhaustion. AMI patients overcompensate these characteristics by means of aggressive and active behavior. In the present study an instrument was constructed to measure these defense mechanisms. 122 male AMI patients and their partners completed a questionnaire for the purpose of judging the afore-mentioned characteristics in the AMI patients. The judgement related to the 3 months prior to the infarction. The study showed that the questionnaire was internally consistent (reliable) and valid. It was found that AMI patients saw themselves as having been less resentful, dependent, anxious and exhausted than their partners judged them to have been. The AMI patients did not judge themselves to have been more aggressive or active than their partners judged them to have been. The results indicate the potential usefulness of the method of comparing scores (patients vs. partners) in measuring defense mechanisms. Methodological problems and problems regarding the interpretation of scores are critically discussed.