A 37-year-old is involuntarily committed to outpatient treatment after sexually molesting a 12-year-old child. The patient says, "That girl looked like she was 19 years old." Which defense mechanism is this patient using?
a. Denial
b. Identification
c. Displacement
d. Rationalization
ANS: D
Rationalization is used to justify upsetting behaviors by creating reasons that would allow the individual to believe that the behaviors were warranted or appropriate. The patient is justifying the molestation of a minor. Denial is used to avoid dealing with the problems and responsibilities related to one's behaviors. Identification is incorporating the image of an emulated person and then acting, thinking, and feeling like that person. Displacement is the discharge of pent-up feelings onto something or someone else in the environment that is less threatening than the original source of the feelings.
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