Predicting susceptibility to short-term stress with the defence mechanism test

The defence mechanism test (DMT) has been of considerable value in identifying individuals who are likely to show badly impaired judgement in times of sudden stress, yet it is little known outside Scandinavia. The DMT is described in this paper and its rationale fully discussed. There follows a critical review of studies in which DMT scores are related to performance in diverse (non-clinical) applied settings, the outcomes of which are generally most encouraging. A number of theoretical and practical problems are discussed, and suggestions are made for future research.