Defense mechanisms and inflammatory bowel diseases: a narrative review
Growing evidence highlights the crucial role of defense mechanisms in the context of chronic diseases. However, few studies have evaluated the impact of these implicit emotion regulation strategies on the adaptation processes related to inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). This narrative review aimed...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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PAGEPress Publications
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Research in Psychotherapy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.researchinpsychotherapy.org/rpsy/article/view/854 |
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| author | Orlando Silvestro Carmelo M. Vicario Ludovico Costa Giorgio Sparacino Trine Lund-Jacobsen Chiara A. M. Spatola Emanuele M. Merlo Anna Viola Concetto M. Giorgianni Antonino Catalano Walter Fries Gianluca Lo Coco Gabriella Martino |
| author_facet | Orlando Silvestro Carmelo M. Vicario Ludovico Costa Giorgio Sparacino Trine Lund-Jacobsen Chiara A. M. Spatola Emanuele M. Merlo Anna Viola Concetto M. Giorgianni Antonino Catalano Walter Fries Gianluca Lo Coco Gabriella Martino |
| author_sort | Orlando Silvestro |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Growing evidence highlights the crucial role of defense mechanisms in the context of chronic diseases. However, few studies have evaluated the impact of these implicit emotion regulation strategies on the adaptation processes related to inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). This narrative review aimed to explore the role of defense mechanisms in patients with IBD and clarify their association with related psychological and physical symptoms. A literature search was conducted using PubMed and PsycINFO databases to select studies considering defense mechanisms in patients with IBD. Inclusion criteria were English language articles, diagnosis of Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, and use of validated assessment instruments specifically related to defense mechanisms. Six studies, including a total of 664 patients, were deemed eligible. Immature defense mechanisms were commonly detected in IBD patients, with significant effects on psychological and physical health. Significant associations were found between defense mechanisms, perceived health-related quality of life (HR-QoL), and psychological distress. Findings suggested that immature defense mechanisms may negatively impact the management of disease, leading to lower perceived HR-QoL, decreased treatment adherence, and increased risk of psychopathological symptoms. Considering these findings, we suggest that an integrated clinical evaluation, including an in-depth investigation of defense mechanisms, may promote more effective psychological treatments and improve psychological well-being in patients suffering from IBD.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7f2e53ea2af44c80b2177ef2269fa03d |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2499-7552 2239-8031 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | PAGEPress Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Research in Psychotherapy |
| spelling | doaj-art-7f2e53ea2af44c80b2177ef2269fa03d2025-08-20T01:51:41ZengPAGEPress PublicationsResearch in Psychotherapy2499-75522239-80312025-04-0110.4081/ripppo.2025.854Defense mechanisms and inflammatory bowel diseases: a narrative reviewOrlando Silvestro0https://orcid.org/0009-0002-0966-5642Carmelo M. Vicario1Ludovico Costa2https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4443-319XGiorgio Sparacino3Trine Lund-Jacobsen4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3616-5929Chiara A. M. Spatola5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4807-9566Emanuele M. Merlo6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6041-9186Anna Viola7Concetto M. Giorgianni8Antonino Catalano9Walter Fries10https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6159-7478Gianluca Lo Coco11Gabriella Martino12Department of Health Sciences, University Magna Graecia of CatanzaroDepartment of Cognitive Science, Psychology, Education and Cultural Studies, University of MessinaCourse Degree in Clinical and Health Psychology in the Life Cycle, University of MessinaCourse Degree in Medicine and Surgery, University of MessinaDepartment of Endocrinology, Centre for Cancer and Organ Diseases, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, CopenhagenDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of MessinaDepartment of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of MessinaDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of MessinaDepartment of Biomedical and Dental Sciences and Morphofunctional Imaging, University of MessinaDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of MessinaDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of MessinaDepartment of Psychology, Educational Science and Human Movement, University of PalermoDepartment of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Messina Growing evidence highlights the crucial role of defense mechanisms in the context of chronic diseases. However, few studies have evaluated the impact of these implicit emotion regulation strategies on the adaptation processes related to inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). This narrative review aimed to explore the role of defense mechanisms in patients with IBD and clarify their association with related psychological and physical symptoms. A literature search was conducted using PubMed and PsycINFO databases to select studies considering defense mechanisms in patients with IBD. Inclusion criteria were English language articles, diagnosis of Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, and use of validated assessment instruments specifically related to defense mechanisms. Six studies, including a total of 664 patients, were deemed eligible. Immature defense mechanisms were commonly detected in IBD patients, with significant effects on psychological and physical health. Significant associations were found between defense mechanisms, perceived health-related quality of life (HR-QoL), and psychological distress. Findings suggested that immature defense mechanisms may negatively impact the management of disease, leading to lower perceived HR-QoL, decreased treatment adherence, and increased risk of psychopathological symptoms. Considering these findings, we suggest that an integrated clinical evaluation, including an in-depth investigation of defense mechanisms, may promote more effective psychological treatments and improve psychological well-being in patients suffering from IBD. https://www.researchinpsychotherapy.org/rpsy/article/view/854Inflammatory bowel diseasesquality of lifeclinical psychologyimplicit emotional regulationdefense mechanisms |
| spellingShingle | Orlando Silvestro Carmelo M. Vicario Ludovico Costa Giorgio Sparacino Trine Lund-Jacobsen Chiara A. M. Spatola Emanuele M. Merlo Anna Viola Concetto M. Giorgianni Antonino Catalano Walter Fries Gianluca Lo Coco Gabriella Martino Defense mechanisms and inflammatory bowel diseases: a narrative review Research in Psychotherapy Inflammatory bowel diseases quality of life clinical psychology implicit emotional regulation defense mechanisms |
| title | Defense mechanisms and inflammatory bowel diseases: a narrative review |
| title_full | Defense mechanisms and inflammatory bowel diseases: a narrative review |
| title_fullStr | Defense mechanisms and inflammatory bowel diseases: a narrative review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Defense mechanisms and inflammatory bowel diseases: a narrative review |
| title_short | Defense mechanisms and inflammatory bowel diseases: a narrative review |
| title_sort | defense mechanisms and inflammatory bowel diseases a narrative review |
| topic | Inflammatory bowel diseases quality of life clinical psychology implicit emotional regulation defense mechanisms |
| url | https://www.researchinpsychotherapy.org/rpsy/article/view/854 |
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