TY - JOUR
T1 - Long term consequences of suppression of intrusive anxious thoughts and repressive coping
AU - Geraerts, E.G.
AU - Merckelbach, H.L.G.J.
AU - Jelicic, M.
AU - Smeets, E.
PY - 2006/1/1
Y1 - 2006/1/1
N2 - The current experiment employed a thought suppression paradigm to investigate whether repressors (N = 40) are more skilled in suppressing positive and anxious autobiographical thoughts than low anxious (N = 40), high anxious (N = 40), and defensive high anxious (N = 40) individuals, both immediately and over a longer time period (i.e., 7 days). Regardless of suppression instructions, repressors reported during their lab visit fewer target thoughts for their most anxious events than participants in the other three groups. However, over a 7 days period, repressors showed the highest number of intrusive thoughts about their anxious autobiographical events. Thus, our results demonstrate that repressive coping might be adaptive in the short run, but counterproductive in the long run.
AB - The current experiment employed a thought suppression paradigm to investigate whether repressors (N = 40) are more skilled in suppressing positive and anxious autobiographical thoughts than low anxious (N = 40), high anxious (N = 40), and defensive high anxious (N = 40) individuals, both immediately and over a longer time period (i.e., 7 days). Regardless of suppression instructions, repressors reported during their lab visit fewer target thoughts for their most anxious events than participants in the other three groups. However, over a 7 days period, repressors showed the highest number of intrusive thoughts about their anxious autobiographical events. Thus, our results demonstrate that repressive coping might be adaptive in the short run, but counterproductive in the long run.
U2 - 10.1016/j.brat.2005.11.001
DO - 10.1016/j.brat.2005.11.001
M3 - Article
C2 - 16337604
SN - 0005-7967
VL - 44
SP - 1451
EP - 1460
JO - Behaviour Research and Therapy
JF - Behaviour Research and Therapy
IS - 10
ER -