Peculiarities of defense mechanisms and personal maturity in different women’s sex-role types with signs of exercise addiction

Introduction: The issue under consideration is the study of gender role traits and protective mechanisms of an addictive personality. These are the characteristics that determine the processes of adaptation, form the adaptive system, and contribute to its subjective comfort. The aim of this research is to analyze the features of psychological protection and personal maturity mechanisms depending on gender types of women with signs of exercise addiction. Material and methods: To consider the manifestation of this phenomenon, the following psychodiagnostic methods were used: the Life Style Index (LSI), the structural gender-role scale of O.S. Kocharyan, E.V. Frolova, and the “Auto analytical questionnaire of a healthy personality” of V.O. Ananiev. Apart from that, the method of verifying the differences of unrelated samples (Student’s t -test), correlation analysis (Kendall’s τ coefficient), and factor analysis were applied in order to factorize the main data components (Varimax rotation). Results: The study of the correlations between maturity and the psychological protection mechanisms suggested that personal maturity is mostly associated with the mechanism of denial. Finally, the practical significance of the research lies in forming the empirical basis for further development of the system of psychological support and correction of women with signs of exercise addiction who are identified as psychological targets of influence. Conclusions: Finally, the practical significance of the research lies in forming the empirical basis for further development of the system of psychological support and correction of women with signs of exercise addiction who are identified as psychological targets of influence.