THE REPRESSION-SENSITIZATION-COPING-INVEN TORY (RSCI)

The Repression-Sensitization-Coping-Inventory (RSCI) is based on the p ersonality construct Repression-Sensitization, which characterizes a p erson's style of coping with anxiety. It investigates self-reported co ping responses to stress during public speaking. The construction of t he RSCI aims to a) include different areas of possible reactions to st ress, apart from cognitive reactions and b) eliminate the close relati onship of existing R-S-scales and neuroticism. The RSCI includes items from the Stress Reaction Scale (SVF 84) by Jan ke, Erdmann and Kallus (1990). The most salient items of a large item pool were used to crea te two scales, the Sensitization Scale and the Defensive Scale, which were constructed to form independent dimensions. The defensive scale r epresents cognitive, non-emotional and nonbehavioral items forming a g eneral factor. The cognitive and behavioral items of the sensitization scale load on two factors, situation - reaction - control and helples sness. So it is possible to differentiate between active and passive s ensitizers. The sensitization scale could be separated from other meas ures assessing personality traits such as anxiety or neuroticism. The defensive scale is negatively correlated with these traits. The RSCI w as validated on the revised version of the Anxiety Coping Inventory fo r situations characterized by ego-involvement (ABI-E-R) by Krohne and Egloff (1994).