The present study empirically examines the expression of 4 drive-related themes (feeding, aggression, avoidance, and sexual activity) in the manifest content of repressors' and nonrepressors' dreams. The results revealed that repressors generated more aggressive and less avoidant thematic dream content than nonrepressors. Given repressors' denial of aggression and their focus on an avoidant style of coping (D. Weinberger, 1990), the findings are discussed in terms of a compensatory relationship between repressors' waking and dreaming modes of adaptation. Examination of the manifest content of the dream narrative may add to understanding the motivational underpinnings of the repressive coping style.