Preparation to reexperience a stressful medical examination: Effect of repetitious videotape exposure and coping style

36 22-80 yr old patient volunteers, experienced in the stressful endoscopy examination, were prepared to reexperience that examination by viewing an explicit videotaped endoscopy either 0, 1, or 3 times. All Ss were given the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, a Modified Repression-Sensitization Scale (Epstein & Fenz, 1967), and the Post-Endoscopy Interview Schedule. Patients were classified as having either a repressing or sensitizing coping style. On dependent anxiety measures including heart-rate change, behavioral ratings, and self-report, tape viewing generally resulted in decreased anxiety in sensitizers, and had no effect or produced increased anxiety in repressors. When the data were analyzed ignoring repression-sensitization coping style, tape viewing produced little effect. Results are discussed in terms of the accurate information and extinction theories of preparation effects. (24 ref)