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Book

Defense Mechanisms

Ryan Bailey  1 , Jose Pico  2
In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.
.
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Book

Defense Mechanisms

Ryan Bailey et al.
Free Books & Documents

Excerpt

Sigmund Freud, known as the father of psychoanalysis, began the discussion of defense mechanisms in the nineteenth century in relation to the subconscious defenses of the id, ego, and superego. These initial defense mechanisms were more clearly defined and analyzed by his daughter, Anna Freud, in the twentieth century. She created 10 major defense mechanisms, but the number of mechanisms has since been increased by later psychoanalysts.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Ryan Bailey declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Jose Pico declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

References

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    1. Cramer P. Change in children's externalizing and internalizing behavior problems: the role of defense mechanisms. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2015 Mar;203(3):215-21. - PubMed
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