The effectiveness of psychodynamic package of adolescence identity formation on the changing process of self-defense mechanism and integrative self-knowledge

Abstract

Introduction:

Considering the fact that adolescence is very important in terms of identity formation; and identity formation, in turn, has a major impact on one’s life; this study presents a training package aimed to enhance the successful identity formation of Iranian teenager.

Instrumen:

In terms of methodology, this study has a two-group quasi-experimental design with pre-test and final post-test, the population includes Iranian teenagers of 18 to 22. The sample was chosen according to the nature of the study (quasi- experimental) and two groups of 24 people (12 people in each group) were chosen using available selection method and randomly placed into two groups. Inclusion criteria was the above-mentioned age selected using available selection method. Then, two groups were randomly chosen as the experimental group and the control group.

Result:

The results showed that psychodynamic successful identity formation program enhances coherent self-knowledge of Iranian teenagers. Also, psychodynamic successful identity formation program effects their scores of defense mechanisms questionnaire subscales.

Discussion:

The results, in addition to their contribution to increase the theoretical knowledge about adolescence and the factors influencing the identity formation, leads to the preparation of an educational and medical package to promote successful identity formation in Iranian teenagers. Global identity, where we live in, is changing so fast that makes it difficult to offer even a general view of it.

INTRODUCTION:

This speed and instability could be clearly seen in all aspects of today’s world; and human being, as the core of these changes, is both the “cause” and the “effect” of this inevitable stream turning into the subject of its consequences. Hence, the concept of human dignity is rapidly changing. Adolescence is a stage of human evolution during which occurs the identity formation. This stage includes major changes in self and fundamental questions about identity. The process of identity development is a progressive process including the integration of one’s conscious beliefs about oneself, one’s belief about the views of others about oneself, and the commitment one has towards personal values and goals of life (Schultz, 2005). According to Erickson (1968) the main objective of adolescence is to develop a personal identity. In Marcia’s pattern, identity formation arises in terms of exploration and commitment. Exploration refers to the extent people actively explore surface values, beliefs, goals and examine the role of various social programs and various ideologies. Commitment is the loyalty and obedience to a specific set of beliefs, goals and values. Berzonsky’s Identity theory focuses on a cognitive perspective towards identity development. According to him (1990) identity develops in a continuous interaction with the physical and social world. His view is similar to Waterman’s metaphor (1984) of identity formation: “As experiences get repeated, people build their personality constructs, these constructs effect one’s attention to environmental stimuli and one’s processing and interpretation of them (Svyts et al., 2005). Berzonsky (1990) reports three styles of identity: 1. Information style 2. normative style 3. diffuse-avoidant style. People with informative identity style, actively search for and evaluate information about themselves, they are trying to be thinkers, knowledgeable and open to new experiences, and also, be wise problem-oriented decision-makers (Berzonsky, 1990; Dvlyngr, 1995 ). In addition to individual aspects, adolescence is influenced by social context (such as interaction between family members and peers); these effects last for years and even influence the creation of new changes. Identity formation process is not simple, its influenced by different dimensions influence. One of the aspects of adolescent development is ordering, which is effected by the child’s primary relationship with the source of attachment (Brvznsky, 2000).

Other dimensions can be nervous-biological factors, teenager’s relationship with their guardians, their psychosocial and social life experiences in their environment (Avymd, 2009).

From the perspective of psychoanalysis, (Freud and Hall, 1914), adolescence is revisiting Oedipus complex and establishing the teenager’s personality. For successful identity development, psychoanalysis pays attention to the concept of “individuality”, which includes pulling inhalation of internal structures, experiencing the natural needs against defense mechanisms, integrating the principles of and internalizing the external thread. During the adolescence, one’s symbolization of the external information and the inner relationship with her/his important people in life, forms her/his relationship with others (McCarthy, 2002).

Identity development occurs in the light of attachment, this progressive process includes integration of one’s conscious beliefs about oneself, one’s beliefs about others opinions about oneself, vision and commitment to personal values and goals of life (Schultz, 2005).

According to Marcia (1980) the main objective of adolescence, is to gain commitment, loyalty and obedience towards a specific set of beliefs, goals and values that occurs in the light attachment (Svyts et al., 2005). In Marcia’s pattern, identity formation arises in terms of exploration and commitment. Exploration refers to the extent people actively explore surface values, beliefs, goals and examine the role of various social programs and various ideologies. According to White (2009), commitment refers to the amount of one’s investment and her/his decision to accept the values, beliefs and specific career paths, regardless of whether they have been chosen by themselves or nourished by others. This commitment is the foundation of the identity received by the person.

Ericsson defines this as a favorable result of teenager’s identity crisis against the confusion of identity.

Recently, some researchers have focused upon the orientation of socio-cognitive processing the teenager uses as indicators of identity (Berzonsky, 2003). According to him (1990) identity develops in a continuous interaction with the physical and social world. His view is similar to Waterman’s metaphor (1984) of identity formation: “As experiences get repeated, people build their personality constructs, these constructs effect one’s attention to environmental stimuli and one’s processing and interpretation of them (Svyts et al., 2005).

In fact, the teenager internalizes her/his mental reality of important “others” in her/his life; as if they are a part of him; and a conversation starts between these “selves” within him/her (Ghorbani, 1392). One of the main purposes of this conversation is linking the concepts of “self” and “dialogue”. Self-knowledge is an adapted dynamic and coherent psychological process that acts time-dependently: the purpose of self-knowledge is ordering. Self-knowledge is a dynamic process because it must correspond to the constantly changing situations.

The time-dependency of self-knowledge means the constantly changing conditions, knowledge of current experience and linking it with the experience of the past in order to achieve a future of satisfaction and psychological unity (Ghorbani, Watson, Bing, Davison and Lee Burton, 2003).

Studies show that integrative self-knowledge is negatively related to anxiety, depression, perceived stress, rumination and obsessive thinking, while it is associated with life satisfaction, meeting basic psychological needs and reflective thinking (Watson, 2006). The study of integrative self-knowledge in autoimmune patients showed that these patients have the lowest level of integrity and the highest level of anxiety compared to other patients; this reflects the psychological heterogeneity of these patients (Watson and Chen, 2011). So, given the importance and criticality of adolescence in terms of identity formation, studying this phase of life is of particular importance. Therefore, several studies have been conducted in order to explore identity in world and reported different factors in its formation among which subject and self-knowledge relations have been considered of great importance.

Therefore, this study sought to answer the question of whether this training package of identity, considering its psychodynamic components based on identity techniques of teenagers; and interviewing the experts effects the promotion of psychodynamic adolescent identity? And according to this program, what are different types of orientation in components of subject relations?

Methodology

In terms of methodology, this study has a two-group quasi-experimental design with pre-test and final post-test.

Population, Sample, and Sampling

The population includes Iranian teenagers of 18 to 22. The sample was chosen according to the nature of the study (quasi-experimental) and two groups of 24 people (12 people in each group) they were chosen using available selection method and randomly placed into two groups. Inclusion criteria was the above-mentioned age selected using available selection method. Then, two groups were randomly chosen as the experimental group and the control group.

Tools

In this study, two questionnaires were used in order to collect data on subject relations and integrative self-assessment along with semi-structured interviews of attachment.

Self-integrated:

This scale has been structured by Ghorbani and colleagues (2008) integrating two aspects of experience and self-reflective consciousness in order to measure self- knowledge based on the integration of past experience with current empirical knowledge and its connection to the desirable future. This tool has 12 articles and 5 degrees of responses from “mostly true” to “mostly false”. Items 3, 6 are related to reflective self-consciousness, items 1, 5, 7 and 8 examine empirical self- consciousness while other items are on integrative self-knowledge. The reliability of this scale, in a group of 230 students of Tehran University was as follows: Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.9 for empirical self-knowledge and 0.84 for reflective self-knowledge.

The correlation between the two aspects was r=0.74 (Ghorbani et al., 2003). Test- retest reliability of the scale, after an interval of 7 to 8 weeks and 44 subjects, was as follows: the reliability of empirical self-knowledge and reflective self-knowledge were 0.76 and 0.68, respectively (Ghorbani et al., 2003). Internal consistency, validity of criterion and convergence of this scale in Iran and USA has been reported desirable (Ghorbani et al., 2008).

Defensive Style Questionnaire DSQ:

Defensive Style Questionnaire DSQ examines defensive behavior through experimentally investigating vigilant derivations of defense mechanisms in everyday life (St. Martin et al., 2004). This questionnaire is based on hierarchical pattern of defenses (Ibid). DSQ was first presented by Bond et al in order to evaluate the defense mechanisms of normal people and patients in 1083, originally, it was consist of 88 articles examining 24 mechanisms (Andrews et al. 1993 and Hyashy et al., 2004).

Training package

Psychological interventions include teaching principles of dynamic psychology in adolescent identity formation based on integrative self-knowledge, components of subject relations, attachment style questionnaire and interviews with experts. The validity of this questionnaire was finalized through sending the package to a team of experts and receiving their approval; the content of the meetings was established in 12 90-minutes sessions as follows:

• Introduction, establishing safety and security
• Who Am I Increasing the teenager’s mental capacity and familiarizing her/him with
  internal dialogue
• Modifying the internal dialogue Life skills training in order for the teenager to see the integration and not
  the separation
• Duplication or replication Pressures and needs of the teenager, the difference between satisfaction and
  compatibility
• Leisure and teen border Image and sound of the parents, and destructive coalitions
• Searching for the meaning of future Deconstruction and clarification Farewell and the end of the treatment

The results

In this section, descriptive indicators of variables in subject relations and integrative self-knowledge of the teenager in experimental and control groups, are reported in two-step evaluation (pre-test, post-test). The mean and deviated standard of integrative self-knowledge total score in both experimental and control groups, in pre-test and post-test, are significant in Table 4.1.

Table 4-1 descriptive indicators of integrative self-knowledge total score in the two groups (in two-step assessment)

Based on the table above, in the pre-test, mean score of the two groups are almost at the same level and there is not a significant difference between them, but the total score of integrative self-knowledge, in the experimental group compared to the control group and in the posttest compared to the pre-test, has significantly increased.

Then, the descriptive findings will be examined in relation to the subscales of defense mechanisms questionnaire. As it can be seen in Table 2-14, descriptive indicators related to the subscales of the defense mechanisms questionnaire in experimental and control groups, in pre- and post-test, have been reported.

Table 2-14- descriptive indicators of defense mechanisms subscales in the two sampled groups in two-step evaluation

Table 4.14 shows that in the post-test, the average score of immature and neurotic defense mechanisms was lower in the experimental group compared to the control group, while its average score of developed defense mechanisms was higher compared to the control group.

Descriptive indicators related to subscales of clinical profile in the two groups and pre-test and post-test have been reported separately in the tables 4-15, 4-16, 4- 17 and 4-18 .

4.2.2   Statistical analysis of hypotheses

In this section, the findings regarding the research hypothesis will be analyzed.

First hypothesis: The psychodynamic program of Iranian teenager’s successful identity formation increase integrative self-knowledge.

In order to test the hypothesis, regarding the fact that we have the pre-test in this research, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to compare the two groups. Pre-test scores were used in the analysis as a covariate and were controlled in the results. According to the default establishment of equal variance between scores of the two groups (non-significance test Levin: 05/0 p>, 067/3 = F), this test is verifiable to use. The results are shown in Table 4-17.

Table 4-3 Results of one-path covariance analysis on integrative self-knowledge in the post-test

The results showed that after adjusting the pre-test scores, there is a significant difference between the two groups in their average integrative self-knowledge score. According to Table 4.3, comparing the average scores of both groups indicates an increase in the average scores of the experimental group compared to the control group. This suggests that psychodynamic program of Iranian teenager’s successful identity formation managed to increase integrative self-knowledge supporting the fourth hypothesis.

The second hypothesis: The psychodynamic program of Iranian teenager’s successful identity formation influences the changes in the defense mechanisms.

In order to test the hypothesis, regarding the fact that we have the pre-test in this research, analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to compare the two groups. Pre-test scores were used in the analysis as a covariate and were controlled in the results.

Before using this statistical test, it is necessary to validate the default of homogeneity of covariance (box test) and variance (Levene test). Box (05/0> P, 37/0 = F, 7/2 = Box’s M) and Levene (05/0 <P) results supports the established default of covariance and variance homogeneity. Therefore, multivariate analysis of covariance is permitted.

The results of multivariate analysis of covariance on the linear combination of Subject Relations Scale questionnaire subscales (at post-test) are provided in Table 4-24.

Table 4-24- shows the results of one-way multivariate analysis of covariance test on the subscales of defense mechanisms questionnaire in the post-test.

MANCOVA analysis (Table 4-24) is indicative of a significant effect of the group (0001 / 0P <). This result means that there is a significant difference between the experimental and control groups, in the linear combination of dependent variables (subscales of the defense mechanisms questionnaire). The results of Table 4-25 indicate that this effect is significant in relation to what dependent variable.

Table 4-25 – The results covariance analysis on the subscales of defense mechanism questionnaire in the post-test.

As it can be seen in Table 4-25, there is a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the subscales of immature, developed and neurotic defense mechanisms, after adjusting pre-test scores (0001 / 0P <). According to the results of Table 4-13, it should be noted that this significance represents a decrease in neurotic and immature mechanism scores and an increase in developed mechanism score in the experimental group. This result indicates the significant impact of psychodynamic program of Iranian teenager’s successful identity formation on the subscales of defense mechanism questionnaire, thus the seventh hypothesis is confirmed.

Discussion and conclusion

This study was conducted to study the effectiveness of psychodynamic program of Iranian teenager’s successful identity formation on the process of integrative self- knowledge and defense mechanism in Iranian teenagers.

The results showed that psychodynamic program of successful Iranian teenager’s identity formation, increases integrative self-knowledge. When the person’s self- knowledge processes act at the appropriate level, there won’t be any split in her/his recognition of oneself and others, and the person can accept good and bad aspects of themselves and others (Von Doug, 2010). Self-knowledge is the awareness and attention to the present experience. It was also observed in the sample of students that higher integrative self-knowledge in the face of stress, could lead to a lesser fear of intimacy.

Self-knowledge processes are the consistent processes the objective of which is to integrate the knowledge of oneself and others. Also, the integrative self- knowledge causes a person to feel and understand their internal states and to be aware of them. When individuals have such self-knowledge they can immediately recognize, embrace and manage the feelings that arise in close relationships.

Other findings of this study indicate that the psychodynamic program of Iranian teenager’s successful identity formation increases the score of defense mechanism subscales.

The importance of the person’s relationships with parents, and its impact on his/her life, (Toronto, 2012) has been confirmed with respect to the importance of these factors in predicting the formation of identity. Correnburgh argues that the one’s life is formed based on their relationships with others. He believes that the teenager’s relationships with family, if inadequate and inconsistent, leads to different

psychological damage including alienation and insecure attachment (Vance, 2004). Or according to Horner, object relations are internal mental structures rather than interpersonal events; object relations are deeply influenced by primary interpersonal relationships, and in turn, effect the consequent interpersonal relationships.

Human beings, throughout their life, are due to turn these unprocessed thoughts into more mature and the more context or, in other words, Alpha, through mental functions or Alpha function. It seems like the Alpha function acts as a digestive system for the human psyche.

For the psyche should have a smooth function properly and to be able to understand other perspectives and not to be self-centered. Derrida’s deconstruction (1995) is required in teenager’s life. The teenager, using training they receive, should question their world and remake it in a new way. The opportunity for this demolition and renovation is necessary in the teenager’s life so they can be able to assess their attachment, social functions, alienation and self-centeredness. Paul McCartney (2005) states that to demolish and build, requires courage. The courage that determines the fate of a teenager because it is necessary in this process of thought which is, in turn, the essence of development.

Thus, the teenager will be able to find a new meaning for their lives.

According to Nietzsche (1890) “he who has a why to live for, can almost bear any how”. Teenagers must learn that the meaning of existence is based on irreversibility; it just gives us the valuable experiences. Its flavor is retained only in the light of the interests and understanding for the meaning. According to the results, the experimental group, after the intervention, significantly changed in their scores of defense mechanism questionnaire subscales. In the case of controls, immature and neurotic defense mechanisms was decreased while there was a significant increase in developed mechanism. Farjad (1392), in a paper on the relationship between personality organization and defense mechanisms, showed that among the dimensions of the personality organization (the first psychological defenses, confusion of identity and reality testing), the first psychological defenses predict the immature defense mechanism and the criterion for general vulnerability of personality predicts immature defense mechanism, significantly.

The results reported by Afzali (1387) showed that groups with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and anxiety used more immature and neurotic defense mechanisms compared to non-infected ones. The researchers argue that the vulnerability and its intensity is related to the frequency of use and level of defense compatibility (Offer, 2000).

Defense mechanisms, because of their special significance in the conceptualization of mental disorders and their treatment from psychodynamic point of view, have been of clinical and research interest (Kramer, 2000). Defenses play an important role in mental health (Quotes & Pollack, 1989; Offer et al., 2000, Bond, 2004; Blaba et al., 2006). Defense mechanism, in fact, distorts reality and the level of distortion is more present in immature and neurotic defenses than the developed defense. The more a defense is cognitively distorted, the less the conscious awareness will be, as a result of which less efforts will be observed to address cognitive distortions (Bird, 2004).

In summary, although the data for this study were collected through self-report leading to the limitations such as the impact of the tendency of respondents to submit responses as desirable to the society, but the effectiveness of identity (integrative self-knowledge and components of defense mechanism) are among the innovative aspects of this study. Sampling and the study being limited to available sampling could be of other limitations which requires cautious generalization. Also, due to the failure to control variables such as socioeconomic status, the generalization of the findings should be taken with caution. But because of the importance of identity formation process in the future of the country, it is recommended to conduct descriptive and quantitative studies to know other aspects of identity. Dimensions such as factors relating to peers, family, and how they influence the performance of the teenager. The results of this study, in addition to an increase in the theoretical knowledge can promote the successful identity of Iranian teenager.

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