Developmental changes in trait and situational denial under stress during childhood

Decline in denial usage during childhood was examined by obtaining four measures of denial from 34, 6-, 8- and 10-year-old boys. Significant age declines were observed for two trait denial measures and one situational denial measure. Positive relationships among denial measures were observed only for the trait measures. It appears that knowledge of trait denial may not be very useful in predicting situational denial; and that future research should be directed toward more detailed examination of cognitive processes associated with defensive outcomes and toward changes in external factors, such as peer evaluation of defensive behaviors, which could impact on the production of defensive responses.