The physician's quality of life: Relationship with ego defense mechanisms and object relations.

Objective: To assess whether ego defense mechanisms and object relations (the way an individual subjectively experiences his/her relationships with others) are related to quality of life among physicians.

Methods: In this cross-sectional mail survey, 602 physicians from Botucatu, SP, Brazil, were sent a socio-demographic questionnaire, the Bell Object Relations and Reality Testing Inventory-Form O (BORRTI-O), the Defense Style Questionnaire-40 (DSQ-40), and the World Health Organization Abbreviated Instrument for Quality of Life Assessment (WHOQOL-BREF).

Results: 198 questionnaires (33%) with valid responses were obtained.