Relationship between self-acceptance and adjustment, repression-sensitization and social competence.

Ss were 40 male patients hospitalized on a psychiatric ward and defined as maladjusted and 40 male patients hospitalized on a medical-surgical ward and defined as adjusted. The medical and psychiatric groups were each composed of equal subgroups of low-competence repressers, low-competence sensitizers, high-competence repressers, and high-competence sensitizers. All Ss completed a social desirability minimized Q sort for "real self" and for "ideal self." Results showed that self-acceptance as expressed in a self-ideal discrepancy score is significantly related to the defensive-style continuum of repression-sensitization, with repressers expressing significantly smaller self-ideal discrepancies than sensitizers. No relationship was found between self-acceptance and the dimensions of adjustment or social competence.