Defense Reactions and Coping Strategies in Normal Adolescents

In exploring the relationship between defense reactions and coping strategies in a non-clinic sample of adolescents (N = 81), we assessed: defense structure by the Bond Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ); coping behaviors by the Coping Responses Inventory-Youth Form (CRI-Youth); and general adjustment by Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) ratings. Defense reactions and coping strategies were modestly associated and made independent contributions in predicting the GAF. Mature and immature defenses and avoidance coping comprised the optimal combination in predicting the GAF, accounting for 20% of GAF variance. It is therefore important to assess both unconscious and conscious processes when assessing general functioning in normal adolescents.