FEATURES OF USING DECEPTION AS A PSYCHOLOGICAL DEFENSE IN INDIVIDUALS WITH INCREASED LEVELS OF ANXIETY AND STRESS

Abstract

The article presents the results of a theoretical and empirical study of deception as a psychological defense in individuals with elevated anxiety and stress. The paper is based directly on the author’s qualification thesis devoted to the analysis of deception as a defensive regulatory strategy activated under emotional tension, helplessness, and inner vulnerability. The study integrates theoretical analysis and empirical findings. The theoretical part summarizes psychoanalytic and contemporary psychological approaches to defense mechanisms, anxiety, perceived stress, and deception, including the idea that deception may serve not only communicative or manipulative purposes but also a self-protective function. The empirical part involved 45 respondents aged 20 to 55, including 14 men and 31 women, all of whom were at the rehabilitation stage in a hospital setting. The following instruments were used: the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI–40), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS–10), O. Yu. Kosianova’s “Types and Motives of Deception” method, and the Defense Style Questionnaire DSQ–40. Descriptive statistics showed elevated anxiety and notable stress manifestations in the sample, as well as a broad representation of deceptive and defensive behavioral forms. The most pronounced forms of deception were concealment and noble deception, while among motives and defense-related indicators the strongest positions were associated with self-protection and maintaining relationships. Correlation analysis demonstrated that perceived helplessness was positively associated with concealment (r=0.425; p=0.0036) and noble deception (r=0.403; p=0.0060), whereas lack of self-efficacy was not significantly correlated with those forms of deception. In addition, trait anxiety was positively associated with immature defense style (r=0.359; p=0.0154), while the relation between reactive anxiety and neurotic defense style was statistically insignificant (r=-0.069; p=0.6546). The thesis also reports positive associations of trait anxiety with self-protective motives and maintaining relationships as motives for deception, which supports the interpretation of deception as a defensive adaptation to internal distress.