The Mediating Effect of Defense Mechanism in the Relation between Disconnection and rejection Schema and Mental Health

The purpose of the present study is to examine relationships between disconnection and rejection schema, defense mechanism, and mental health in college students using structural equation modeling. The present study suggested a proposed model in which defense mechanism exerted a full mediating effect on the relation between disconnection and rejection schema and mental health. Goodness of fit tests were used to compare the proposed model against competing models. The subjects consisted of 304 college students. They completed the Young Schema Questionnaire(YSQ-SF), the Defense Style Questionnaire(DSQ), and the Mental Health Scale. The results showed that the second model had a better goodness of fit. Based on these findings, it is suggested that psychological interventions for mental health in college students should consider strategies to use more flexible and more adaptive defense mechanism style.