Confounding of the Repression-Sensitization Scale, Controlled for Social Desirability, with the IP at Anxiety Scale

Abstract

The Repression-Sensitization Scale, in a version which was controlled for social desirability and acquiescence response set, and the IPAT Anxiety Scale were administered to 51 male and 48 female undergraduates. Previous research had shown that repression-sensitization, anxiety, and social desirability are highly intercorrelated. Removing social desirability from the R-S scale left a measure which was still strongly correlated with an anxiety scale, the two measures having 45% of the variance in common.