Examination of the relationship between university students' defense mechanisms, mindful awareness and self-compassion

The main objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between defense mechanisms, mindful awareness, and self-compassion among university students. In this context, the ways in which defense mechanisms, mindful awareness, and self-compassion vary according to participants' demographic characteristics have also been explored. A total of 618 university students participated in the study. The relational survey model, which is part of general survey models, was employed in the study. The data collection tools included a Socio-Demographic Information Form, Mindful Awareness Scale, Defense Mechanism Test, and Self-Compassion Scale. Parametric analyses such as t-test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Pearson correlation, and multiple regression were used for data analysis since the data exhibited a normal distribution. The findings indicate that there is no significant relationship between university students' scores on the mindful awareness scale and the scores obtained from the mature sub-dimension of the defense mechanism test. However, a negative relationship was observed between the scores on the neurotic and primitive sub-dimensions. On the other hand, statistically significant and positive relationships were found between the self-compassion scale scores of the participating university students and the scores on the mature, neurotic, and primitive sub-dimensions of the defense mechanism test. The results suggest that university students' scores on the mindful awareness scale do not predict the scores they obtain from the mature sub-dimension of the defense mechanism test. However, it was determined that the scores on the self-compassion scale significantly and positively predict the scores on the mature sub-dimension. mindful awareness scale scores negatively predict the scores from the neurotic sub-dimension of the defense mechanism test, while self-compassion scale scores positively predict these scores. Similarly, it was observed that the scores on the mindful awareness scale significantly and negatively predict the scores from the primitive sub-dimension of the defense mechanism test, while the scores on the self-compassion scale positively predict these scores. The findings are discussed in line with the literature.