Comparison of psychological hardiness and style of defense mechanisms in hemodialysis patients and healthy subjects

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the comparison of hardiness and defense style mechanisms in patients receive hemodialysis and healthy subjects.
An ex post facto design was used. 100 patients undergoing hemodialysis in Ashrafi Esfahani and Sevom-e- Shaban’ hospitals in district 12 of Tehran and also 100 normal individual from the same part were selected using available sampling methods. The Psychological hardiness test Kyamrsy (2006) and the defense mechanisms test Andrews, Singh, and Bond (1993) were administrated. Data were analyzed using t-test independent samples and Pearson correlation.
Lower level of hardiness was found for patients. Two groups didn’t have difference in using mature defense mechanisms but patients used more neurotic defense mechanisms than healthy group. Normal people used more immature defense mechanisms than patients. There was a strong connection between the increase of mature defense and increase of hardiness in both groups.
Improving hardiness trait can reduce prevalence of this disorder. Also recognition of inappropriate defense patterns, with emphasis on the effects psychological factors can lead to special treatment in order to adjust defensive patterns.