A multitude of published books and papers on child sexual abuse (CSA) describe symptoms, long-term effects, and therapy for survivors of abuse. However, the parallels between the nature of the sexual trauma event(s) as originally experienced by the victim and the therapeutic process into which the survivor later becomes engaged have not been…

In an effort to encourage dialogue and reflection on matters of common concern and interest, this journal invites responses on selected articles from other educators, who engage the text critically and offer some reflections about its utility and validity. This paper presents responses from Daniel F. Curtin, Gwen Byrd and Dominica Rocchio to the…

Some adults and children exhibit defensive behaviors to tactile or auditory stimulation. These symptoms occur not only in subsets of children with ADHD, autism, and Fragile X syndrome, but also in the apparent absence of accompanying disorders. Relatively little research explores the correlates and antecedents of sensory defensiveness. Using a…

The despair and uncertainty apparent in some parts of the current educational environment is likely to give rise to an increase in the occurrence of unhealthy institutional defense mechanisms. Explores the implications of such development for school counselors, and argues that they may have to assume the role of organizational consultant and…

At age 13, and for the next 20 years, male subjects were periodically interviewed about their moral judgments. Adolescents with mature use of defense mechanisms reasoned at higher stages of moral judgment 10 to 20 years after the initial interview than did those with immature use of defense mechanisms. (BC)

Literature review of cognitive, affective, behavioral, and somatic-psychological effects as a consequence of overwhelming life events in children and adolescents is compared with DSM-III-R definition of Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Responses likely in children and adolescents are discussed; suggestions for future research and counseling…

Because the onset of a spinal cord injury may involve a brush with death and because serious injury and disability can act as a reminder of death, death anxiety was examined as a predictor of posttraumatic stress levels among individuals with disabilities. This cross-sectional study used multiple regression and multivariate multiple regression to…

Within the literature on the psychology of forgiveness, researchers have hypothesized that the 1st stage in the process of being able to forgive is the role of psychological defense. To examine such a hypothesis, the authors explored the relationship between forgiveness and defense style. The 304 respondents (151 men, 153 women) completed measures…

Previous research has illustrated the negative psychological consequences of female body objectification. The present study explores how female body objectification may serve as a defense against unconscious existential fears. Drawing from terror management theory, an experiment was designed to test the potential functionality of female body…

This study used the Response Evaluation Measure-Youth (REM-Y-71), a self-report measure of 21 defense reactions, among school-age children. Participants were elementary and middle school students (n=290; grades 3-8; age range: 8-15; mean=11.73). Factor analysis revealed a 2-factor defense structure consistent with structure among high school and…

Examines the literature review by D.S. Holmes which is frequently cited as evidence against recovered memories of child sexual abuse. This examination concludes that Holmes has been cited out of context and that his conclusions are not directly relevant to the current controversy regarding recovered memory. (LSR)

Presents a study on the psychodynamics of work in order to analyze students' relationship to their work organization in an economic context characterized by competition, job insecurity, and anxiety about the future. Collective defense mechanisms were identified, including silence, individualism, isolation, and endurance. (Contains 27 references.)…

Presents questionnaire results concerning self-handicapping, course-related expectancies, and study habits. Reports that self-handicappers were more likely than others to make external and unstable attributions. Concludes that the underlying cognitive mechanism of self-handicapping strategies is a defensive attributional pattern that protects an…

Among 1,493 adolescents ages 14-20 years, the lower the social group, the higher the average neurotic defense style score. Boys had higher scores of mature defense styles than girls. Among boys who had lost their father, lower social class was related to immaturity. Social class differences in defense styles may partly explain later differences in…

Examines self-handicapping and defensive pessimism, the factors that predict these strategies, and the associations between these strategies and a variety of academic outcomes. Findings reveal that task orientation negatively predicts both self-handicapping and defensive expectations and positively predicts reflectivity. Students high in…