Introduction: Addiction treatment is influenced by many factors, which may be both risky and protective. The most important are the personality characteristics, ways of coping with demanding situations and the social background of the addict. These factors need to be examined in order to understand the causes of addiction in a particular individual and to take them into account in the treatment of addiction so that it is more effective. Objective: The aim of the research was to investigate the specific relationships between the types of defense mechanisms and the dimensions of personality and attachment in persons with alcohol dependence. Research sample and methods: 65 participants treated for alcohol dependence participated in the research, (81.5% were males). Temperament and Character Inventory - Revised (TCI-R), Experienced in Close Relationships - R (ECR - R) and Defense Style Questionnaire - 40 (DSQ - 40) were administered. The obtained data were subjected to correlation analysis. Results: The immature type of defense mechanisms (DSQ-40) correlated negatively with the personality dimensions reward dependence, self-directedness and cooperation, and positively correlated with anxiety and avoidance. Neurotic and mature types of defense mechanisms positively correlated with the dimensions of reward dependence, persistence, self-transcendence and cooperativeness, and were not related to anxiety or avoidance. These findings point out that immature defense mechanisms of people with alcohol dependence are significantly related to variables, which mainly relate to relationship both with others and themselves. This implies of which methods are suitable for the treatment of addiction. Conclusion: Based on the results of the study, we recommend to work with people with addiction on change of defense mechanisms from immature to mature. It would also be useful to focus on redressing relationships with others and getting a more realistic self-image.

Key words: alcohol dependence – defense mechanisms – attachment – personality traits – therapy of addiction