A test of the repression hypothesis in agoraphobics.

In a recent study Turner et al. (1983) employed Bell & Byrne's (1978) Repression-Sensitization (R-S) scale to test the hypothesis that agoraphobics utilize repression as a method of avoiding anxiety-arousing forms of cognition. However, no support was found for this view. Rather, the R-S scores indicated general sensitization and attention to negative affect. In this paper it is argued that, on both theoretical and psychometric grounds, the R-S scale cannot be considered a suitable measure of the repression-sensitization process. A study was carried out in which a number of other defensivity measures were used in addition to the R-S scale. Weak support was found for Goldstein & Chambless' (1978) view that a defensive cognitive style is characteristic of agoraphobic patients when compared with non-phobic psychiatric controls.