Department of Psychology, Faculty of Science and Technology, Middlesex University, London, NW4 4BT, UK.
Psychophysiology and Stress Research Group, Department of Psychology, University of Westminster, 115 New Cavendish Street, London, W1W 6UW, UK.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2019 May;103:33-40. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2018.12.220. Epub 2018 Dec 17.
Repressors are well-known to monitor potential psychosocial threats to their self-esteem and self-concept. In research, repressors are traditionally categorised as those scoring low on trait anxiety and high on defensiveness (as measured by social desirability scales). Examining repressors' cortisol reactivity to a group socio-evaluative laboratory stressor could be an important way to extend work on the classic 'repressor dissociation', which proposes that this group experience higher levels of physiological stress, but lower levels of subjective affect, during stressful situations. Research however has focused mainly on repressors' higher, more risk-prone levels of autonomic, rather than hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA), reactivity to stressful stimuli. We assessed cortisol reactivity using a group-based acute psychosocial stressor, the Trier Social Stress Test for groups (TSST-G), which required participants to individually perform public speaking and mental arithmetic tasks in front of up to six other group members, as well as an evaluative panel of judges. Seventy-seven healthy young females (mean age ± SD: 20.2 ± 3.2 years) took part, of which 64 met the conventional criterion for a response to the TSST-G (<15.5% increase from baseline sample). The Stress-Arousal Checklist was completed pre- and post-TSST-G. Participants also completed the Perceived Stress Scale, the Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Marlow-Crowne Social Desirability Scale. The latter two measures were used to provide a categorisation of repressive coping style. Participants identified as repressive copers exhibited significantly lower cortisol reactivity during the TSST-G. Repressors also self-reported less subjective stress. These findings provide some evidence against the notion of the repressor dissociation and are discussed in terms of how cortisol hyporeactivity may be a pathway through which repressive coping adversely affects health.
抑制者以监测对其自尊和自我概念的潜在心理社会威胁而闻名。在研究中，抑制者通常被归类为那些特质焦虑得分低、防御性高（通过社会期望量表测量）的人。检查抑制者对群体社会评价性实验室应激源的皮质醇反应可能是扩展经典“抑制者分离”工作的重要途径，该理论认为，该群体在压力情况下经历更高水平的生理压力，但较低水平的主观情感。然而，研究主要集中在抑制者对压力刺激的自主神经（而非下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺 (HPA)）反应的更高、更易冒险的水平上。我们使用基于群体的急性心理社会应激源，即群体 Trier 社会应激测试 (TSST-G)，评估皮质醇反应，该测试要求参与者在最多六名其他群体成员和评估小组面前单独进行公开演讲和心算任务。77 名健康年轻女性（平均年龄±标准差：20.2±3.2 岁）参与了研究，其中 64 名符合 TSST-G 反应的常规标准（基线样本增加<15.5%）。在 TSST-G 前后完成了应激唤醒检查表。参与者还完成了压力量表、特质焦虑量表和马罗-克劳恩社会期望量表。后两个测量用于提供抑制应对风格的分类。被确定为抑制应对者的参与者在 TSST-G 期间皮质醇反应显著降低。抑制者也自我报告的主观压力较小。这些发现对抑制者分离的观点提出了一些质疑，并根据皮质醇反应低下可能是抑制应对对健康产生不利影响的途径进行了讨论。
