Gender differences in defense mechanisms, ways of coping with stress and sense of identity in adolescent suicide attempts

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to investigate the gender differences in defense mechanisms, ways of coping with stress and identity formation in relation to adolescent suicidal behavior. This study involved 64 adolescents between 12-17 years of age, who were admitted to the emergency service with a suicide attempt. They were evaluated with a semi-structured clinical interview (K-SADS), Ways of Coping Inventory (WCI), Defense Mechanisms Inventory (DMI) and Sense of Identity Assessment Form (SIAF). 60.9% (n = 39) of the adolescents were female, and 39.1% (n=25) were male. There were no statistically significant differences between the girls and the boys with respect to the clinical characteristics of the suicide attempt and the rate of psychiatric disorders. Of the 64 adolescents with suicide attempt, 47 (73.4%) had at least one, and 26 (40.6%) had more than one psychiatric disorder according to K-SADS. Disruptive behavior disorders were more frequent in males, whereas depression was more frequent in girls. The data indicated the importance of identity confusion, major depression and ADHD in adolescents with suicide attempt in both genders. 43.6% (n=17) of the girls and 36% (n=9) of the boys obtained scores higher than the cut-off point of SIAF indicating identity confusion. Professional help seeking and NSSI behaviors before the suicide attempt were more common in adolescents with identity confusion. While there were differences between genders with respect to the defense mechanisms used, no significant difference was found in terms of ways of coping. Evaluation of DMI scores revealed that the turning against object subscale score was significantly higher in boys compared to girls. While evaluating the adolescents at risk, their defense mechanisms, way of coping and sense of identity, as well as their psychiatric diagnosis should be assessed in detail in order to identify the suicidal thoughts and prevent possible suicide attempts.Key words: suicidal behavior, adolescent, gender, defense mechanism, ways of coping, sense of identity.Suicidal behavior in adolescents is an important public health problem today. Although the rate of suicidal behavior is reported to be low in childhood, suicidal thoughts and attempts are widespread in youth [1][2][3] . The prevalence of suicidal behavior in Turkey is lower than the prevalence reported in other countries, however it has been increasing especially in adolescents and young adults aged between 15-24 years 4 . Preventing the trend of increase of suicidal behavior in adolescents is only possible by determining the specific clinical characteristics. Numerous socio-demographical and psychological factors associated with suicidal behavior in adolescents were described. Suicidal thoughts or attempts in adolescents were found to be related to individual factors (gender, age, academic problems, interpersonal relationship problems, stressful life events, history of suicidal behavior) 5,6 ; familial factors

Association of Neurotensin Receptor 1 Gene Polymorphisms With Defense Mechanisms in Healthy Chinese

“…The association between NTR1 gene polymorphisms and defenses was thus a sex-specific result. In fact, several previous studies have demonstrated significant differences in defenses between the two genders ( 56 – 58 ), and in agreement, we found significant differences in 10 particular defense styles between male and female subjects in the present study. Moreover, the important effect of the interaction between gender and gene polymorphisms has already been demonstrated on individual differences in personality traits ( 59 – 61 ).…”

Pattern of Acute Synthetic Cannabinoids Toxicity in Patients Presented to the Poison Control Center of Ain Shams University Hospitals

“…Males generally show aggressive (externalizing) behaviors during personal problems compared to females who often show auto-aggressive (internalizing) symptomatology. So self-poisoning is the main manner of intoxication in females; whereas drug abuse and addiction are more common in males (Foto-Özdemir et al, 2016). Moreover, women with encountered substance abuse problems mostly show unique barriers to seeking medical help owing to greater stigma, limited access to insurance coverage for addiction treatment and less family support for seeking medical advice (Alvanzo et al, 2014).…”

Defense mechanisms in adolescents at high risk of developing psychosis: An empirical investigation

“…The criteria for inclusion were as follow: 13 years of age or older, fluent in Italian, IQ > 70, no organic causes for presentation, and no known psychotic episodes. A strictly matched control group was introduced with the matching criteria of gender, age, and years of education, because these variables can influence defensive functioning (Cramer, 2009 ; Di Giuseppe, Gennaro, Lingiardi, & Perry, 2019b ; Foto-Özdemir, Akdemir & Çuhadaroglu-Çetin, 2016 ; Whitty, 2003 ). Twenty-six non-UHR patients were recruited from the same clinical centers.…”