In defense of what?
Country - Poor
Land - Poor
Others - Fair
Home - Average
Property - Average
Ones Life - Good
I consider this rating to be highly subjective but also fair and balanced in the hands of a skilled shooter. I have owned .380 semiautomatic handguns and handguns of even smaller calibers and feel relatively secure in my ability to defend myself and my home against most standard threats with them. That said as a defensive handgun increases in size and caliber up to certain levels it will provide better ratings across the board. Considering that unless you have a need for a handgun bordering on almost, or being, too small there are many great options in larger calibers. You can also now purchase handguns in larger calibers that are similar in size and weight to earlier .380 handguns if that is a real priority. I know some people that are just enamored by small handguns. I think that is quite understandable and I find nothing wrong with having such a fascination. I also think pocket computer phones, mini-cameras, and mp3 players are neat but I wouldn't try to use them as desktop supercomputers, large format photography, and public address systems.
If you are considering a small .380 for ease of carry or appearance and it will be your only or your first defensive handgun, then it is in my opinion a very poor defensive round and a foolish choice in that circumstance. Some of these small guns have a limited lifespan of how much ammo should be shot through them. They are all difficult to learn basic shooting skills on, have poor sights if any sights at all, substantial recoil and muzzle flip, difficult triggers, expensive ammunition hindering adequate range experience, and take a extremely skilled shooter to put into action effectively. Even a skilled rifle or shotgun shooter has no business trying to learn the skills necessary to deploy a defensive handgun with a small .380 handgun.
You should want to learn with a full sized or semi-compact handgun and once you are skilled you can consider your need for a smaller, lighter, more convenient handgun. To deploy such a gun would only make a .380 a dangerous caliber for everything around your intended target and become a liability to you and those around you. I don't know what your situation is but I hope this helps any one who thinks that handguns are like gadgets and smaller is better. You are being mislead in the most dangerous of ways.