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Individual differences in thought suppression. The White Bear Suppression Inventory: Factor structure, reliability, validity and correlates
Abstract
The White Bear Suppression Inventory [WBSI; Wegner, D.M. & Zanakos, S. (1994), Journal of Personality, 62, 615-640] is a self-report questionnaire measuring people's general tendency to suppress unwanted negative thoughts. The current article describes two studies investigating the reliability, factor structure, validity, and correlates of the WBSI. Study 1 (n = 172) showed that the WBSI is a reliable instrument in terms of internal consistency and test-retest stability. Factor analyses of the WBSI revealed a 1-factor solution. Furthermore, the WBSI was found to correlate positively with measures of emotional vulnerability and psychopathological symptoms. In Study 2 (n = 40), the relationship between WBSI and levels of intrusive thinking was examined in more detail, using a thought suppression task. In general, results of this thought suppression experiment provided evidence for the validity of the WBSI. That is, subjects with high WBSI scores exhibited higher frequencies of unwanted intrusive thoughts than subjects with low WBSI scores.
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“Studies show that the WBSI is a reliable and valid self-report instrument [37].”
From CareACT - internet-based intervention for enhancing the psychological well-being of elderly caregivers - a study protocol of a controlled trial (2019) · cites this paper as [37]
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“The measure has good reliability and validity (Muris, Merckelbach, & Horselenberg, 1996).”
From Supported Web-Based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Older Family Caregivers (CareACT) Compared to Usual Care. (2022) · cites this paper as Muris, Merckelbach, & Horselenberg, 1996
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“80; Muris, Merckelbach, & Horselenberg, 1996) and construct validity (Muris et al., 1996; Schmidt et al., 2009; Wegner & Zanakos, 1994) of this measure.”
Metadata
- Authors
- Muris, P., Merckelbach, H., & Horselenberg, R.
- Corresponding author
- Muris, Peter
- Venue
- Behaviour Research and Therapy
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1996-05
- Volume
- 34
- Issue
- 5-6
- Pages
- 501-513
- ISSN
- 0005-7967 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2003939947
- Cited by
- 281
- References
- 45
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 13 · 2016: 14 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 10
- FWCI
- 5.79
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Behaviour Research and Therapy (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Research Publications (Maastricht University) (publishedVersion)
- Research Publications (Maastricht University) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Mind wandering and attention
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Memory Processes and Influences
- Keywords
- thought suppression, White Bear Suppression Inventory, intrusive thoughts, individual differences, emotional vulnerability, psychiatric symptoms, factor structure, reliability statistics, validity
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Anxiety, Attention, Defense Mechanisms, Female, Humans, Individuality, Personality Inventory, Psychometrics, Repression, Psychology, Thinking, Reproducibility of Results
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