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Repressive coping style and positive self-presentation.

Adrian Furnham1, K V Petrides, Grant Sisterson

  • 1Department of Psychology, University College London, UK. ucjtsaf@ucl.ac.uk

British Journal of Health Psychology
|June 14, 2003
PubMed
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Repressive coping styles involve presenting a positive self-image despite underlying psychological distress. This study found repressors exhibit higher emotional intelligence and self-estimated IQ, but this doesn't negate their unhealthy coping mechanisms.

Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Personality Psychology

Background:

  • The repressive coping style, defined by Weinberger et al. (1979), involves a disconnect between a positive self-image and underlying psychological distress.
  • Existing research has explored cognitive, individual differences, and physiological correlates of this style.
  • A key debate concerns the relative contributions of anxiety and social desirability to repression.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review 59 studies on the repressive coping style.
  • To evaluate the roles of anxiety and social desirability in repression.
  • To investigate the relationship between repression and trait emotional intelligence (trait EI), self-estimated intelligence, impulsivity, and stoicism.

Main Methods:

  • A review of 59 studies was conducted.

Related Experiment Videos

  • An empirical study involved 259 university students.
  • Participants were categorized into four groups based on anxiety and social desirability scores.
  • Analyses included moderated multiple regressions and ANOVAs.

    • Main Results:

    • Hypotheses were supported, showing repressors scored higher on trait EI, self-estimated IQ, and functional impulsivity.
    • No significant interactions were found between anxiety and social desirability.
    • Using extreme-scoring groups did not alter the main findings.

    Conclusions:

    • Repressors maintain an optimistic self-image, contradicting cognitive and behavioral indicators of psychological unhealth.
    • Findings suggest that main effects of anxiety or social desirability alone can explain many results attributed to the repressive coping style.
    • The construct of repression may not require combining anxiety and social desirability components.