Relationship of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder with Psychological Defence Styles in Burn Patients

Burned survivors encounter with painful processes and malformations due to injuries. The purpose of this study was to explore the relations between PSTD and defense mechanisms among burn patients. This after event correlative cross-sectional study was performed in 90 hospitalized patients in Velayat center of burn accidents and plastic surgery of Rasht city, Iran in 2011 and 63 patients were selected by random sampling method and entered to research. Demographic characteristics form, Mississipi Post Traumatic Stress Disorder scale and Defense Styles Questionnaire were used for gathering data. Data analysis was done by Pearson correlation and regression analysis tests by using SPSS 16 software. Severity of burn had positive correlation with burned parts of body, PSTD, neurotic and immature defense style and had negative correlation with mature defense style. Burned parts of body also had direct relation with PSTD and PSTD had reversed relation with mature style and had direct relation with neurotic and immature styles. 17.7% of variance of PSTD was predicted by mature defense style, 44.3% by neurotic defense style and 73% by immature defense style variables. There is a relation between severity of burn, PSTD and defense styles.