An empirically derived hierarchy of adaptive mechanisms and its usefulness as a potential diagnostic axis.

This report empirically examines the utility of the model of ego mechanisms of defense to explain psychological resilience in 307 middle aged men with socially disadvantaged childhoods. The sample has been prospectively followed for forty years. The model arranges defense mechanisms along a hierarchy reflecting severity of psychopathology and hypothetical immaturity. The value of this hierarchy of defenses in relation to diagnosis is discussed.