JKMU Journal of Kerman University of Medical Sciences, 2017; 24 (5): 379-388 Defense Mechanisms in Psychological Health and Sport Success of Athletes Afrooz Mousavi, Ph.D. 1, Mohammad Vaez Mousavi, Ph.D. 2, Hamid Yaghubi, Ph.D. 3 1- PhD of Sport Psychology, Imam Reza International University, Mashhad, Iran (Corresponding author; afrooz2d1386@yahoo.com) 2- Professor of Sport Psychology, Imam Hossein University, Tehran, Iran 3- Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychology, Shahed University, Tehran, Iran Received: 8 March, 2017 Accepted: 26 November, 2017 ARTICLE INFO Original article Defense Mechanisms Mental Health Success Athletes Defense mechanisms represent a crucial component of our capacity to maintain emotional homeostasis. The present study is carried out with the purpose of determining the predictability of psychological health and sport success by defense mechanisms used by elite athletes. A sample of 385 (285 male and 100 female) elite athletes were chosen in 2014. Participants completed Mental Health Inventory (MHI), Sport Success Scale (SSS) and Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ). Analysis of the data involved both descriptive and inferential statistics including Pearson correlation and multivariate regression analyses. The results revealed that there was a significant positive relationship between mature defense mechanisms with psychological wellbeing and sport success. Also, there was a significant negative relationship between neurotic defense mechanisms and immature defense mechanisms with psychological wellbeing and sport success, while the neurotic defense mechanisms were significantly associated with psychological distress. The results of regression analysis showed that psychological wellbeing could be predicted by mature and neurotic defense mechanisms. In addition, sport success could be predicted by immature and neurotic defense mechanisms. It can be concluded that psychological health components and sport success are influenced by defense mechanisms through self-regulating processes which operate with the aim of reducing cognitive discrepancies and minimizing sudden changes. Therefore, modification of defense mechanisms can improve mental quality of life and sport success in athletes. Introduction 379
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Journal of Kerman University of Medical Sciences 2017, Vol. 24, Issue 5 Method In other words, emotions are considered as harmful if they affect the functions of the ego Defense Styles Questionnaire (DSQ) 381
Defense mechanisms in psychological health mousavi, et al Sport Success Scale (SSS) Mental Health Inventory (MHI) Results 382
Journal of Kerman University of Medical Sciences 2017, Vol. 24, Issue 5 Table 1. Demographic characteristics of athletes based on age, gender and history of sports activities Gender Sports Frequency Percent Sports experience (year) M S M Age (year) S Male Team 140 36.36 10.11 3.24 23.60 2.23 Individual 145 37.66 8.89 2.34 22.70 3.22 Female Team 57 14.80 7.70 2.54 22.80 2.98 Individual 43 11.16 6.78 3.54 23.90 3.12 Total 385 100 8.37 3.11 23.25 3.11 Table 2. Descriptive indicators of mental healthcomponents and defense mechanisms Variables M SD Minimum Maximum Psychological distress 53.48 15.45 21 100 Psychological well-being 48.30 7.60 30 66 Sport success 148.43 12.69 103 174 Mature defense mechanism 51.81 8.18 19 72 Immature defense mechanisms 101.68 26.11 48 211 37.25 9.21 14 68 383
Defense mechanisms in psychological health mousavi, et al Table 3. Pearson correlation coefficient between defense styles and mental health subscales Variables Psychological distress Psychological well-being Sport success Immature defense mechanisms 0.035-0.18* -0.55 0.15* -0.68** -0.78 Mature defense mechanism -0.033 0.31** 0.13 Table 4. Results of stepwise regression analysis criterion variable Step Predictor variables R R Square F B Beta t First 0.61 0.41 98.29* -0.75-0.68-5.02 ** Psychological well-being Second Mature defense mechanism 0.68 0.45 31.01* -0.58 0.27-0.57 0.27-4.08* 2.02 * 384
Journal of Kerman University of Medical Sciences 2017, Vol. 24, Issue 5 Table 5. Results of stepwise regression analysis criterion variable Step First Predictor variables R 0.68 R Square 0.43 F 87.29* B -0.89 Beta -0.78 t -5.72** Sport success Second Immature defense mechanism 0.71 0.49 41.01* -0.69-0.59-0.51-0.48-4.82* -4.82* Discussion 385
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Journal of Kerman University of Medical Sciences 2017, Vol. 24, Issue 5 Acknowledgment References 387
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