Dajan, Hawaa (2018) Immature Defence Style: A Mediator between Alexithymia and Somatisation? Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
Alexithymia is defined as the inability to identify and describe emotions. It is linked to the psychological phenomenon somatisation, where individuals experience physical symptoms that cannot be medically explained. Previous research suggests that alexithymia leads to inefficient emotion regulation as well as amplification of physical sensations and therefore increased susceptibility to somatisation. There is also significant relationship between an immature defence style and alexithymia as well as somatisation. An immature defence style consists of automatic psychological mechanisms that help avoid painful emotions by altering the perception of reality to reduce changes in the inner and outer environment. This study investigated if an immature defence style is a mediator in the relationship between alexithymia and somatisation as no other study has done so in the past, to the researcher’s knowledge. The study’s sample included 298 Australian residents 18 years or older compromising of USQ psychology and counselling students and people from the general community. Participants completed an online survey with questions from a demographic questionnaire, Screening for Somatoform Symptoms-7 (SOMS-7), 40-item Defence Style Questionnaire (DSQ-40) and 20item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20). Results show a positive correlation and a significant relationship between somatisation, alexithymia and immature defence style as well as partial mediation by an immature defence style. It is believed that individuals with alexithymia use immature defence mechanisms as an attempt to regulate their emotions. However, this may result in inefficient expression of emotions that become displaced and transformed in to physical symptoms
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
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| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Counselling (1 Jan 2015 - 31 Dec 2021) |
| Supervisors: | Zahra Izadikhah |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 19 Aug 2025 23:38 |
| Last Modified: | 19 Aug 2025 23:38 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | alexithymia, somatisation, immature defence style, emotions |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52245 |
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