The Relation of Defensive Style to Personality Pathology and The Big Five Personality Factors

Abstract

This study investigated the relationship between self-reported defensive style and personality pathology and the Big Five-factor model of personality. Outpatients with a high incidence of Axis II pathology from a health maintenance organization were administered the Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ), the 50 Bipolar Self-Rating Scales (a Big Five measure), and the Personality Disorder Examination (PDE—a structured clinical interview to diagnose personality disorders). The DSQ was factor analyzed, resulting in three factors identified as Immature Defenses, Mature Defenses, and Withdrawal Defenses. Significant relationships were found between the DSQ factors and the other measures, indicating that defensive style was strongly related to personality pathology, and that there is significant empirical overlap between defensive style and trait models of personality. Furthermore, the DSQ contributed significantly to explaining Axis II pathology, after the Big Five factors were accounted for.