محمدهادی یدالله پور

Objective: Psychological defense mechanisms reflect how individuals cope with conflicts and stress. This study aimed to describe defense mechanisms in medical interns and their correlation with spiritual health. Method: This cross-sectional study, characterized by its descriptive nature, was carried out among medical students during the 2019-2020 academic year. The participants were 168 medical interns who met the established study criteria and completed two questionnaires: The Defense Mechanisms Questionnaire (DSQ-40), devised by Andrews et al. (1993), and the Spiritual Health Questionnaire by Paloutzian and Ellison (1982). Data analysis was conducted utilizing SPSS version 25, employing Pearson correlation, t-tests, and ANOVA for statistical evaluation. Results: The mean score of mature defense mechanisms (43.31±16.83) among medical interns was higher than immature (98.52±52.8) and neurotic (36.75±18.3) defense mechanisms. The immature defense mechanism was significantly higher in males than in females (99.43±23.41 vs 108.47±23.21, p=0.014). Also, the mean score of immature defense mechanisms in single individuals was considerably higher than in married ones (106.66±24.02 vs 93.12±19.56, p=0.001). The spiritual health of interns had a significant and direct correlation (r=0.249) with mature defense mechanisms and a significant negative correlation (r=-0.336) with immature defense mechanisms. Conclusion: Higher spiritual health in medical interns is associated with greater use of mature defense mechanisms and lesser use of immature defense mechanisms.