COPING STYLE, ANXIETY, COGNITIONS, AND COGNITIVE CONTROL IN DENTAL PHOBIA

In this study it was found that dental phobics with a high monitoring coping style (n = 12) indicated themselves as being less able to control cognitions about an upcoming treatment than phobics with a low monitoring coping style (n = 12). In addition, high monitoring phobics neither reported higher levels of state anxiety in anticipation of treatment nor had more negative cognitions about the upcoming treatment. An additional finding was that, compared to low anxious patients, dental phobics exhibited higher monitoring scores, but only on the dentist situation of the Miller Behavioural Style Scale and not on the three other situations of this questionnaire.