The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among positive illusion, academic achievement, and ego defense mechanisms of middle school students.
In order to achieve the purpose of this study, the research questions posed in this study were as follows:
1. Is there any relationship between positive illusion and academic achievement of middle school students?
2. Is there any relationship between positive illusion and ego defense mechanisms of middle school students?
3. Is there any relationship between academic achievement and ego defense mechanisms according to the level of the positive illusion of middle school students?
The participants in this study were 396 students of a middle school in Cheongju city. Two questionnaires were administered to them in order to measure positive illusion and ego defense mechanisms. For academic achievement, T scores of three subject matters(Korean, English, and Math) were used. The data obtained were analyzed by t-tests using SPSS 15.0.
The results of this study are as follows:
1. It was found that the higher level group in positive illusion scored significantly higher in academic achievement than the lower level group.
2. It was found that the higher level group in positive illusion scored significantly higher in adaptive ego defense mechanisms than the lower level group, but the higher level group in positive illusion scored significantly lower in three other(self-restraining, conflict-avoiding, and immature) ego defense mechanisms than the lower level group.
3. It was found that the higher level group in academic achievement in the case of the higher level group of positive illusion scored significantly higher in two(adaptive and self-restraining) ego defense mechanisms than the lower group. In the case of the lower level group of positive illusion, no significant relationship was found between academic achievement and ego defense mechanisms.