Influence of defense mechanisms on moral judgment development: A longitudinal study.

The influence of defense mechanisms in adolescence on moral judgment was studied using Kohlberg's longitudinal study of boys and men. Beginning at ages 13- 14 and continuing for 20 years, the 44 Ss in this study were periodically interviewed about their moral judgments, aspirations, and relationships. These interviews were coded for defenses using Haan's (1977) Q-Sort, yielding profiles of the salience of 10 mature and 10 immature defenses. Moral judgment stage scores were obtained from previous analyses