Adverse Life Experiences Predicting Psychological Adjustment Among Adolescents: Investigating the Role of Distress and Psychological Defense Mechanisms

Abstract

The current study focused to investigate the relationship between adverse life experiences, psychological distress, defense styles and adjustment among adolescents. The data was collected from a sample of 331 adolescents, aged 12-19 (M=15.43; SD=2.5) from various schools and colleges of Islamabad/Rawalpindi. The participants were selected using convenient sampling technique. Four instruments were used in this study i.e., Youth and childhood adversity scale (YCAS); Kessler psychological distress scale (K-10); Defense style questionnaire (DSQ-28) and Brief adjustment scale (BASE-6) respectively. The results of the study unfolded a significant relationship between all four variables i.e., youth and childhood adversities were significantly positively correlated with low psychological adjustment, psychological distress and defense styles. Moreover, the results depicted full mediation of psychological distress between adverse life experiences and psychological adjustment, whereas defense styles did not act as a moderator between psychological distress and psychological adjustment. In addition, the results conclude a difference in the defense choice amongst male and females as well as a difference in the defenses chosen as regard to age i.e., early, and late adolescence. The study had several implications, especially with reference to the development of therapies and teaching healthy coping strategies to adolescents in order to reduce their levels of psychological distress and improve their psychological adjustment.