Defense mechanisms in immune-mediated diseases: a cross-sectional study focusing on Severe Allergic Asthma and Hymenoptera Venom Anaphylaxis patients

Background: Chronic immune-mediated diseases, such as Severe Allergic Asthma (SAA) and Hymenoptera Venom Anaphylaxis (HVA), significantly impact quality of life. Defense mechanisms, as implicit emotion-regulation strategies, shape an individual’s adaptation to chronic stressors. This cross-sectional study explored the relationship among defensive functioning, psychological symptoms, and perceived physical and mental health in patients with SAA and HVA. Methods: To explore the role of defensive functioning in perceived physical and mental health 34 patients with SAA and 32 with HVA were assessed with the Short- Form Health Survey, the Beck Depression Inventory, the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, and the Defense Mechanisms Rating Scales Self Report-30; between-group differences, and mediation analyses were performed. Results: Defensive functioning was positively associated with mental health and negatively related to depressive symptoms, anxiety and alexithymia. Males reported significantly higher physical and psychological health than females. Patients with SAA exhibited significantly higher defensive functioning but worse physical health than HVA patients. Mediation analysis revealed that defensive functioning correlated with disease type and physical health, accounting for 39% of the explained variances. Moreover, defensive functioning independently predicted mental health. Conclusion: This study highlights the influence of implicit emotional regulation on psychophysiological well-being in patients with chronic immune-mediated disorders. Despite reporting lower perceived physical health, patients with SAA OPEN ACCESS EDITED BY Ciro Conversano, University of Pisa, Italy REVIEWED BY Mario Miniati, University of Pisa, Italy Omar Carlo Gioacchino Gelo, University of Salento, Italy *CORRESPONDENCE Mariagrazia Di Giuseppe mariagrazia.di.giuseppe@uniroma2.it RECEIVED 08 April 2025 ACCEPTED 02 June 2025 PUBLISHED 18 June 2025 CITATION Martino G, Di Giuseppe M, Silvestro O, Vicario CM, Giorgianni CM, Ruggeri P, Sparacino G, Juli MR, Schwarz P, Lingiardi V, Lo Coco G, Gangemi S and Ricciardi L (2025) Defense mechanisms in immune-mediated diseases: a cross-sectional study focusing on Severe Allergic Asthma and Hymenoptera Venom Anaphylaxis patients. Front. Psychol. 16:1608335. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1608335 COPYRIGHT © 2025 Martino, Di Giuseppe, Silvestro, Vicario, Giorgianni, Ruggeri, Sparacino, Juli, Schwarz, Lingiardi, Lo Coco, Gangemi and Ricciardi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms. TYPE Original Research PUBLISHED 18 June 2025 DOI 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1608335 Martino et al. 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1608335 Frontiers in Psychology 02 frontiersin.org exhibited higher defensive functioning, suggesting that chronic conditions may shape distinct psychological adaptation processes. These findings support the importance of defence mechanisms assessment to tailor psychological interventions promoting well-being in patients with chronic diseases.