Table 4.
Ego mechanisms of defense of ESRD patients who had chosen in-center hemodialysis (CHD) or peritoneal dialysis (PD)
| CHD N = 37 (mean ± SD) | PD N = 21 (mean ± SD) | P valuea | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neurotic denial | 4.32 ± 2.70 | 4.37 ± 1.86 | 0.929 |
| Projection | 3.44 ± 2.26 | 2.87 ± 1.44 | 0.268 |
| Passive–aggressive | 4.75 ± 3.47 | 2.90 ± 3.02 | 0.049 |
| Acting out | 4.77 ± 2.84 | 5.30 ± 1.98 | 0.436 |
| Splitting | 4.96 ± 3.02 | 4.31 ± 3.03 | 0.465 |
| Projective identification | 1.68 ± 2.00 | 1.25 ± 0.91 | 0.290 |
| Omnipotence | 4.42 ± 2.24 | 3.97 ± 2.23 | 0.482 |
| Undoing | 5.15 ± 3.36 | 6.15 ± 3.51 | 0.324 |
| Affiliation | 4.74 ± 3.24 | 6.63 ± 3.16 | 0.345 |
| Somatization | 6.91 ± 2.86 | 4.95 ± 3.51 | 0.043 |
| Hypochondriasis | 4.38 ± 2.70 | 4.49 ± 2.67 | 0.879 |
Note:
a
Two-tailed t-tests; a higher score indicates a more intense use of the specific defense.