Depression, Anxiety, and Psychological Defense in Attempted Suicide: a Pilot Study Using PORT

Depressive affect, anxiety, & psychological defenses were studied in the presented research with PORT, a projective test that exploits subliminal perception of object-relation images. Protocols of 20 hospitalized suicide attempters were compared to those of matched controls, previously studied non-suicidal depressed patients, patients with panic attack, & patients with borderline & psychotic disorders. Suicide attempters were anxious; their defenses resembled those seen in borderline pathology; depressive reactions were limited in symbolic content; reality testing was poor. The closeness between depression & anxiety in suicidality is further discussed throughout this article. (35 refs)