The investigation of the relationship between attitude toward death, psychosocial stages of development and defense mechanisms in adults

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between attitudes towards death, psychosocial development and defense mechanisms of adults living in Turkey. In order to find these associations between the variables, Death Attitude Profile - Revised (DAP-R), Defense Style Questionnaire (DSQ-40) and Modified Erikson Psychosocial Stages Inventory (MEPSI) were given to the participants of the study. Sample of this study consists of 218 individuals (175 female, 42 male, 1 other) who are older than the age of 18. The results of the study indicated correlational relationship between defense styles, psychosocial ego development and death attitudes. It is also found that defense styles significantly predict some factors of attitudes towards death. Distinctly than the previous research, psychosocial development is not found to predict any of the death attitudes. The outcomes of this study are expected to contribute to the literature of death studies in terms of clinical interventions.