Abstract
The present study investigated whether defense styles, assessed by the Defense Styles Questionnaire (DSQ), predict personality disorder symptom levels, assessed by the Personality Diagnostic QuestionnaireRevised (PDQ-R), in a manner consistent with Vaillant 's (1971, 1977) hierarchical model of defense mechanisms. The DSQ and PDQ-R were administered to a mixed-sex sample of 106 undergraduate students. Results of multiple regression and correlational analyses were consistent with the predictions of Vaillants model, in that: (1) the DSQ “maladaptive” and “image-distorting” defense styles were positively associated with the PDQ-R composite index, as well as with 11 and 7 PDQ-R personality disorder subscales, respectively; and (2) the DSQ “adaptive” defense style was negatively associated with the PDQ-R composite index, as well as with 4 PDQ-R subscales. Each of the 14 PDQ-R scales demonstrated a unique pattern of associations with the 4 DSQ defense styles.