Investigating the Relationship between Reality Testing and Thematic Relationships with the Mediation of Defense Mechanisms in Bereavement Disorder

The present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the relationship between reality testing and thematic relationships with the mediation of defense mechanisms in bereavement disorder.

The descriptive research method was correlation type. The statistical population includes all the people who referred to the psychological clinics of the 1st district of Tehran with the diagnostic criteria of grief disorder in 1401. The sample size according to the number of observed variables and assigning a coefficient of 15 for each observed variable, 240 people were selected using the available method. The data collection tool was Bell's (1988) Thematic Relations and Reality Test Questionnaire and Anders' (1993) Defense Mechanisms Questionnaire. In this research, Pearson's correlation test and SPSS22 and Amose 23 software were used to analyze the data obtained.

The results of the research showed that the indirect relationship between thematic relationships and reality testing through defense mechanisms (β=0.28) is significant (p≥0.01).

People with grief disorder, their anxiety level is lower and the level of irritability and impulsivity of these people is higher. Due to their mental conditions, these people create an image of reality instead of reality in order to achieve a relative level of health and mastery over the surrounding world. In addition, they have less ownership over their intrapsychic experiences.