Self-criticism in adulthood and recalled childhood experience

Effects of childhood experiences of parental attitude, depressive rumination, and sleep disturbances on adulthood depressive symptoms

Aim

Various factors are thought to be involved in the development of depression, but the mechanisms are not yet clear. Although several reports have demonstrated that parental attitude experienced in childhood, depressive rumination, and sleep disturbances each influence depressive symptoms, and the association between two of these four variables, to our knowledge, no reports to date have investigated the association among the four variables.

Methods

A questionnaire survey was administered to 576 adults who agreed to participate in this study between April 2017 and April 2018. Questionnaires assessed parental attitudes experienced in childhood, depressive rumination, sleep disturbances, and depressive symptoms in adulthood. The associations among the four variables were tested by structural equation modeling.

Results

Regarding the direct effects, the parental attitude of "care" had a negative influence on depressive rumination and depressive symptoms, whereas "overprotection" had a positive influence on depressive rumination. Depressive rumination had a positive influence on sleep disturbance and depressive symptoms, whereas sleep disturbances had a positive influence on depressive symptoms. Regarding indirect effects, depressive rumination mediated the association between parental attitudes and sleep disturbances or depressive symptoms. Furthermore, sleep disturbances mediated the association between depressive rumination and depressive symptoms. Care and overprotection showed opposite effects. The goodness of fit of this model was high.

Conclusion

The results of this study demonstrated that there were associations among the four variables. Clinical assessment and intervention of depressive rumination and sleep disturbances that are closely associated with previous parental attitudes may lead to an improvement of depressive symptoms.

Validating the Diathesis–Stress Model Based Case Conceptualization Procedure in Cognitive Behavioral Therapies: The LIBET (Life Themes and Semi-Adaptive Plans—Implications of Biased Beliefs, Elicitation and Treatment) Procedure

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) approaches use case formulation procedures based on the diathesis–stress conceptualization model, arranged in two dimensions: emotional vulnerability (present in a patient’s consciousness in terms of core beliefs) and coping strategies. Nevertheless, despite its pivotal role, there are a limited number of validation studies for this model. Life themes and semi-adaptive plans: Implications of biased beliefs, elicitation and treatment (LIBET) is a CBT case formulation method grounded on the CBT diathesis–stress model that aims to help validate the CBT case formulation model, and, in particular, its bidimensional arrangement. In LIBET, the two classic CBT dimensions are called “life themes,” which are mental states of focused attention to emotional sensitivities represented as core beliefs in consciousness, and “semi-adaptive plans,” which are the rigid management strategies of “life themes” implemented by adopting coping strategies such as anxious safety behaviors, compulsive controls and aggressive or rewarding strategies. The study uses quantitative textual analysis to validate the LIBET procedure in a clinical sample. The investigation discusses the extent to which the results can be considered a validation of the arrangement of the general CBT diathesis–stress model in the two dimensions of core beliefs and coping strategies.

Conceptualization and assessment of personality factors in depression

Research that relates personality to depression is one of the dominant themes in the clinical literature. The current paper examines this research from a critical perspective. It is argued that existing research is limited by (i) a failure to adopt a broad conceptual approach to the study of personality and depression; and (ii) the use of personality measures with questionable psychometric properties. Our observations lead us to suggest that greater adherence to established methodology and conceptual developments in the personality field will result in substantial improvements in research on personality and depression, and may ultimately provide a more accurate appraisal of the role of personality factors in depression. In addition to examining important issues, key directions for future research are discussed.

Testing a Self-Compassion Intervention Among Job Seekers: Self-Compassion Beneficially Impacts Affect Through Reduced Self-Criticism

Job search is associated with various obstacles and difficulties that can elicit negative emotions and undermine positive emotions. Having self-compassion may benefit job seekers' well-being by stimulating more balanced emotional responses to negative job search experiences. In an intervention study we examined whether state self-compassion can be increased among job seekers through writing exercises in which job seekers are instructed to reflect with self-compassion on their negative job search experiences. We further examined whether the self-compassion intervention benefited job seekers' affective responses, through reducing self-criticism. We designed a between-participants field experiment with two conditions (i.e., self-compassion vs. control) and three measurement times 1 week apart: a baseline questionnaire, the intervention with a second questionnaire, and a follow-up questionnaire (N = 180). Results show that the self-compassion writing exercise increased job seekers' state self-compassion, which in turn related to their affective responses to job search. Specifically, their negative deactivating affect (e.g., sadness) was lower and their positive deactivating affect (e.g., calmness) was higher immediately after the self-compassion writing exercise than after reflecting freely (i.e., the control condition). The effects on job seekers' affect were partially mediated by reduced self-criticism.

Depression, perceived parental rearing and self-acceptance

Psychoanalytical, behavioural and cognitive theories assume a continuous process in the development of self-acceptance as an important psychological variable by parent-child interaction during childhood and adolescence. The objective of the present study was to investigate the relationships between perceived parental rearing behaviour and self-acceptance in psychiatric inpatients. The results of extreme group comparisons pointed to the reciprocal discriminative power of parental rearing factors and self-acceptance scores, supporting the hypothesis of a continuous process in the development of self-acceptance and mood traits. Perceived parental rearing predicted aspects of psychopathology in adulthood. The effects of maternal and paternal behaviour appeared to be gender-specific. Alternative interpretations of these findings are discussed.

Pain in relation to emotion regulatory resources and self-compassion: a non-randomized correlational study involving recollected early childhood experiences and insecure attachment

Background

Pain is common in most diseases and is usually treated by medical and physical approaches (medications, exercise). Limited attention has been given to whether non-medical approaches (such as emotion regulation abilities including self-compassion) can help further reduce the pain experienced. Scleroderma (systemic sclerosis), a painful and complex autoimmune connective tissue and vascular disease, was examined in this study in relation to psychological aspects of pain and the links of pain to (1) early life experiences, (2) current insecure attachment style, (3) physiological arousal (negative, hyper-arousal), and (4) personal emotion regulation (self-compassion). Knowledge about these relationships may help in the treatment of pain.

Participants and procedure

Participants (120) from Australia (39) and the United Kingdom (81) completed an online or a hard copy survey; 78 participants remained for analysis after screening.

Results

We found that poor or limited positive early life experiences and a current insecure (dismissive) attachment style contributed significantly to experiencing elevated levels of pain. We also found that negative early life experiences and limited emotion regulation (low self-compassion) predicted hyper-arousal, which in turn was associated with experienced pain. Insecure dismissive attachment style and hyper-arousal were significantly correlated.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that negative childhood experiences and an insecure dismissive attachment style may determine how emotional experiences are regulated or managed by individuals in disease-related pain. Implications include that interventions addressing attachment style and self-compassion may help reduce pain in the individuals concerned, thus helping supplement the effectiveness of current medication and physical approaches.

Item-Response Theory Psychometric Analysis and Factor Structure of the Self-Compassion and Self-Criticism Scales

Abstract. The study verifies the psychometric properties of the Slovak version of the Self-Compassion and Self-Criticism Scales (SCCS) using item response theory, factor analysis, and scale validity. The survey sample was collected by convenience sampling and consisted of 514 participants (27% men and 73% women) with a mean age of 26.16 years (SD = 8.32). A two-dimensional structure of the scale was not confirmed. The Self-Criticism subscale of the SCCS remained the same as in the original study, and the Self-Compassion subscale of the SCCS was divided into the subscales Self-Compassion (compassionate reaction to self) and Self-Reassurance (reassuring and soothing reactions to self). The Slovak translation of the SCCS seems to be a reliable instrument to measure the level of self-compassion and self-criticism. The validity of the SCCS should be further explored by linking the scale results to directly observable outcome measures as there are significant but very weak correlations with other related scales. This could be due to differences between situational and trait self-compassion and self-criticism.

Depression as a mediator in the relationship between perceived familial criticism and college adaptation

OBJECTIVE

This study examined relationships among emerging adults' perceived familial criticism, their depressive symptoms, and their college adaptation.

PARTICIPANTS

The current study examined the responses of 412 emerging adults (300 females and 112 males) who were college students at a large southeastern university. The majority of these emerging adults were Caucasian, but the remainder were from a broad range of racial backgrounds.

METHODS

Participants completed the Family Emotional Involvement and Criticism Scale as a measure of their familial criticism, the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire as a measure of their college adaptation, and the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition as a measure of their depression.

RESULTS

Results were examined using correlational and regression analyses in the context of Baron and Kenny's (J Pers Soc Psychol. 1986;51:1173-1182) method for determining mediation. Results suggested that for female emerging adults, the relationship between perceived familial criticism and college adaptation was mediated significantly by depressive symptoms. In contrast, this pattern of results did not hold for male emerging adults.

CONCLUSIONS

Given these findings, emerging adults' depressive symptoms may serve as a useful proximal target for psychotherapeutic interventions meant to improve adaptation to college (particularly for female emerging adults), even in the context of high levels of perceived familial criticism from emerging adults' family of origin.

Parental and school bonding in Iranian adolescent perpetrators and victims of bullying

This study compared parental and school bonding in adolescents in Iran who are perpetrators of bullying, victims of bullying and not-involved in bullying. Secondary school students ( N = 240) were selected by cluster random sampling and screening, and categorized as perpetrators of bullying ( N = 80), victims of bullying ( N = 80) and non-involved ( N = 80) by teacher and vice-principal nominations. The Parental Bonding Instrument and the School Bonding Scales were completed by the students. With some exceptions (i.e., no between-group differences in maternal overprotectiveness and boys reported higher levels of school involvement than girls), results suggest similar patterns in Iran as in Western societies. With regard to parental bonding, perpetrators of bullying reported lower levels of maternal and paternal care than victims of bullying and non-involved students, higher levels of paternal overprotectiveness than non-involved students, higher levels of paternal authoritarianism (or lower levels of autonomy) than victims and non-involved students, and higher levels of maternal authoritarianism than victims. For school bonding, perpetrators of bullying reported lower levels of school and teacher attachment than the other two groups and victims reported lower levels of school and teacher attachment than non-involved students. Implications for school psychologists are discussed.

Demonstrating mood repair with a situation-based measure of self-compassion and self-criticism

OBJECTIVES

The clinical significance of self-criticism and self-compassion has prompted the development of questionnaires assessing these constructs. However, there is a lack of measures assessing their interaction within specific contexts and potential involvement in mood repair processes.

DESIGN

To rectify this, we developed the Self-Compassion and Self-Criticism Scales (SCCS), based on responses to specific scenarios, and examined its psychometric properties in an online survey and an experimental situation.

METHOD

In study 1, standard psychometric procedures were used to investigate the reliability and validity of the SCCS. In study 2, an experimental challenge involving a difficult language task was used to test its sensitivity to change.

RESULTS

In study 1, exploratory factor analysis (n = 413) showed a clear two-factor structure of the SCCS denoting two orthogonal scales, with high internal validity (α ≥ .87). Correlations between the SCCS and existing measures also demonstrated appropriate convergent validity. Study 2 (n = 90) provided preliminary evidence that the SCCS can detect changes in self-appraisals. Participants receiving no performance feedback from the challenge task showed reduced state self-criticism and increased state self-compassion, demonstrating mood repair.

CONCLUSIONS

The SCCS has promise as a situational measure of self-compassion and self-criticism.

PRACTITIONER POINTS

In the context of specific problem situations, clients' levels of self-criticism and self-compassion may well be orthogonal and can be assessed with the SCCS. In setting treatment goals and assessing treatment outcome, it may be helpful to target both self-compassion and self-criticism separately.

Rethinking Social Desirability Scales: From Impression Management to Interpersonally Oriented Self-Control

Social desirability (specifically, impression management) scales are widely used by researchers and practitioners to screen individuals who bias self-reports in a self-favoring manner. These scales also serve to identify individuals at risk for psychological and health problems. The present review explores the evidence with regard to the ability of these scales to achieve these objectives. In the first part of the review, I present six criteria to evaluate impression management scales and conclude that they are unsatisfactory as measures of response style. Next, I explore what individual differences in impression management scores actually do measure. I compare two approaches: a defensiveness approach, which argues that these scales measure defensiveness that stems from vulnerable self-esteem, and an adjustment approach, which suggests that impression management is associated with personal well-being and interpersonal adjustment. Data from a wide variety of fields including social behavior, affect and well-being, health, and job performance tend to favor the adjustment approach. Finally, I argue that scales measuring impression management should be redefined as measures of interpersonally oriented self-control that identify individuals who demonstrate high levels of self-control, especially in social contexts.

Maternal criticism and adolescent depressive and generalized anxiety disorder symptoms: a 6-year longitudinal community study

This 6-year longitudinal study examined the direction of effects (i.e., parent effects, child effects, or reciprocal effects) between maternal criticism and adolescent depressive and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) symptoms, including adolescents' perceptions of criticism as a potential mediator. Consistent with recent empirical findings on associations between parenting and adolescent internalizing symptoms, we hypothesized stronger child effects than parent effects. A community sample of 497 adolescents (M age = 13.03 at T1, 57 % boys) reported annually on their depressive and GAD symptoms as well as their perceptions of parental criticism. Their mothers (M age = 44.41 at T1) also reported annually on their own critical behavior toward their adolescent. As expected, cross-lagged panel models demonstrated stronger child effects (i.e., adolescent psychopathology predicting maternal criticism) than parent effects (i.e., maternal criticism predicting adolescent psychopathology) for both adolescent depressive and GAD symptoms, including adolescent perceived criticism as a significant mediator. Our results emphasize the importance of considering (1) potential bidirectional influences over time, contrary to a focus on parent effects on adolescent mental health, as well as (2) adolescent perceptions of parenting as an important potential mediator in associations between aspects of the parent-adolescent relationship and adolescent internalizing psychopathological symptoms.

Childhood maternal care is associated with DNA methylation of the genes for brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and oxytocin receptor (OXTR) in peripheral blood cells in adult men and women

In adults, reporting low and high maternal care in childhood, we compared DNA methylation in two stress-associated genes (two target sequences in the oxytocin receptor gene, OXTR; one in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor gene, BDNF) in peripheral whole blood, in a cross-sectional study (University of Basel, Switzerland) during 2007-2008. We recruited 89 participants scoring < 27 (n = 47, 36 women) or > 33 (n = 42, 35 women) on the maternal care subscale of the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) at a previous assessment of a larger group (N = 709, range PBI maternal care = 0-36, age range = 19-66 years; median 24 years). 85 participants gave blood for DNA methylation analyses (Sequenom(R) EpiTYPER, San Diego, CA) and cell count (Sysmex PocH-100i™, Kobe, Japan). Mixed model statistical analysis showed greater DNA methylation in the low versus high maternal care group, in the BDNF target sequence [Likelihood-Ratio (1) = 4.47; p = 0.035] and in one OXTR target sequence Likelihood-Ratio (1) = 4.33; p = 0.037], but not the second OXTR target sequence [Likelihood-Ratio (1) < 0.001; p = 0.995). Mediation analyses indicated that differential blood cell count did not explain associations between low maternal care and BDNF (estimate = -0.005, 95% CI = -0.025 to 0.015; p = 0.626) or OXTR DNA methylation (estimate = -0.015, 95% CI = -0.038 to 0.008; p = 0.192). Hence, low maternal care in childhood was associated with greater DNA methylation in an OXTR and a BDNF target sequence in blood cells in adulthood. Although the study has limitations (cross-sectional, a wide age range, only three target sequences in two genes studied, small effects, uncertain relevance of changes in blood cells to gene methylation in brain), the findings may indicate components of the epiphenotype from early life stress.

The Developmental Origins of Personality Factors from the Self-Definitional and Relatedness Domains: A Review of Theory and Research

This paper reviews theory and research on the developmental origins of several widely studied personality vulnerabilities to psychopathology that represent the self-definitional (self-criticism, autonomy, and perfectionism) or relatedness (dependency and sociotropy) domains identified in Blatt's (2008) , Blatt and Shichman's (1983) , and Beck's ( Beck et al., 1983 ) 2-polarities models of personality. We examine the evidence for the effects of both parenting and peer relationships. We conclude that there is a robust relationship between negative parenting behaviors and the 5 personality vulnerabilities reviewed here which pertain to both self-definition and relatedness, with recent evidence suggesting a possible effect of peer relationships over and above parents. The available evidence suggests that all of the negative developmental experiences studied to date contribute to the development of all the personality vulnerabilities reviewed here. In light of this, we suggest possible mechanisms through which adverse developmental experiences may affect personality factors pertaining to self-definition and relatedness. We also suggest that there may be commonalities across the developmental experiences, such that they result in similar developmental consequences. Although there is now much research on the development of these personality factors, there is still relatively little research examining the roles of factors other than parents and peers, including siblings, romantic partners, environmental changes, and genetics, and we conclude by proposing a revised model of the development of self-definition and relatedness in order to outline future directions for this research field.

Recalled peer relationship experiences and current levels of self-criticism and self-reassurance

OBJECTIVES

Numerous studies have shown that personality factors may increase or decrease individuals' vulnerability to depression, but little research has examined the role of peer relationships in the development of these factors. Accordingly, this study examined the role of recalled parenting and peer experiences in the development of self-criticism and self-reassurance. It was hypothesized that, controlling for recalled parenting behaviours, specific recalled experiences of peer relationships would be related to current levels of specific forms of self-criticism and self-reassurance.

DESIGN

Hypotheses were tested using a retrospective design in which participants were asked to recall experiences of parenting and peer relationships during early adolescence. This age was chosen as early adolescence has been shown to be a critical time for the development of vulnerability to depression.

METHODS

A total of 103 female and 97 male young adults completed measures of recalled parenting, overt and relational victimization and prosocial behaviour by peers, and current levels of self-criticism and self-reassurance.

RESULTS

Hierarchical regression analyses showed that parents and peers independently contributed to the development of self-criticism and self-reassurance. Specifically, controlling for parental care and control, overt victimization predicted self-hating self-criticism, relational victimization predicted inadequacy self-criticism, and prosocial behaviour predicted self-reassurance. As well, prosocial behaviour buffered the effect of overt victimization on self-reassurance.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings highlight the importance of peers in the development of personality risk and resiliency factors for depression, and suggest avenues for interventions to prevent the development of depressive vulnerabilities in youth.

PRACTITIONER POINTS

The nature of a patient's personality vulnerability to depression may be better understood through a consideration of the patient's relationships with their peers as well as with parents during adolescence. An understanding of adult patients' past peer relationships may further the therapist's understanding of the client's core schemas and dysfunctional attitudes, as well as potential transference reactions during therapy. Identifying and helping youth to better cope with peer victimization may help prevent the development of a vulnerable personality style in adulthood. Fostering positive peer relationships in adolescence may buffer the effects of other more negative relationships with peers.

Dyadic Processes in Early Marriage: Attributions, Behavior, and Marital Quality

Marital processes in early marriage are important for understanding couples' future marital quality. Spouses' attributions about a partner's behavior have been linked to marital quality, yet the mechanisms underlying this association remain largely unknown. Using couple data from the Family Transitions Project (N = 280 couples) across the first four years of marriage, results from actor-partner interdependence modeling demonstrated that early marriage responsibility attributions were associated with marital quality four years later, after controlling for initial marital quality. Further, couple's warm and hostile behavior two years into the marriage mediated the attribution-marital quality association. The results suggest that interventions designed to facilitate change in romantic relationships may benefit from addressing attributions for the partner's behavior, in addition to changing behaviors, as part of a dyadic process unfolding across time.

Parental bonding and self-esteem as predictors of severe depressive symptoms: a 10-year follow-up study of Norwegian physicians

Elevated rates of suicide and depression among physicians have been reported. The associations between perceived parental bonding and depressive symptoms have yet to be studied longitudinally in this occupational group. In a nationwide cohort, we sought to study parental bonding as a predictor for severe depressive symptoms and to determine whether self-esteem mediates this relationship. After graduation (T1), medical students (N = 631) were followed-up after 1 (T2), 4 (T3), and 10 (T4) years. There were no gender differences in mean depressive scores. Female physicians reported higher levels of care from their mothers (p < 0.05) and less overprotection from their fathers (p < 0.05). Low-care from the mother predicted severe depressive symptoms (p = 0.01), an effect shown to be stronger for male than for female physicians. The relationship between perceived parental bonding and depressive symptoms was partially mediated by low self-esteem for both sexes.

Development of an early memories of warmth and safeness scale and its relationship to psychopathology

Experiences of early childhood have a major impact on physiological, psychological, and social aspects of maturation and functioning. One avenue of work explores the recall and memory of positive or negative rearing experiences and their association with psychopathology measures. However, while many self-report studies have focused on the recall of parental behaviours this study developed a new measure called the early memories of warmth and safeness scale (EMWSS), which focuses on recall of one's own inner positive feelings, emotions and experiences in childhood. Student participants (N = 180) completed the new scale and a series of self-report scales measuring different types of early recall, psychopathology, types of positive affect, and self-criticism/reassurance. The EMWSS was found to have good psychometric properties and reliability. Recall of parental behaviour and recall of positive emotional memories were highly related, but recall of positive emotional memories was a better predictor of psychopathology, styles of self-criticism/self-reassurance and disposition to experience positive affect, than recall of parental behaviour.

Role of Parenting and Maltreatment Histories in Unipolar and Bipolar Mood Disorders: Mediation by Cognitive Vulnerability to Depression

In this article, we review empirical research on the role of individuals' parenting and maltreatment histories as developmental antecedents for symptoms and diagnosable episodes of unipolar and bipolar spectrum disorders. Our review is focused on the following three overarching questions: (1) Do negative parenting and a history of maltreatment contribute risk to symptoms or diagnosable episodes of unipolar and bipolar disorders? (2) Are the associations of negative parenting and maltreatment histories with bipolar disorders similar to those for unipolar depression? and (3) Are the associations between negative parenting and maltreatment histories and unipolar and bipolar symptoms or disorders mediated by cognitive vulnerability to depression? We begin by discussing the methodological requirements for demonstrating a psychosocial risk factor and the methodological issues that plague the parenting and maltreatment literatures. Next, we review the extant studies on the role of parenting histories in unipolar and bipolar disorders. We consider the specificity and possible moderators of the parenting-mood disorder relationship, as well as cognitive vulnerability to depression as a mediator of this relationship. Then, we review studies on the association of maltreatment histories with unipolar and bipolar disorders and the role of cognitive vulnerability to depression as a mediator of this association. We conclude with an assessment of the state of the parenting and maltreatment literatures in unipolar and bipolar disorder with regard to our guiding questions.

Conceptualizing and measuring personality vulnerability to depression: comment on Coyne and Whiffen (1995)

J. C. Coyne and V. E. Whiffen (1995) reviewed research on personality vulnerability to depression, focusing on S. J. Blatt's (1974, 1990) concepts of dependency and self-criticism and A. T. Beck's (1983) concepts of sociotropy and autonomy. The authors discuss 6 issues raised in that review: (a) the typological or dimensional nature of vulnerability, (b) the theoretical implications of "mixed" vulnerability, (c) the relations of vulnerability to Neuroticism. (d) the potential confounding of vulnerability with concurrent depression, (e) the potential confounding of vulnerability with social context, and (f) the differentiation of dependency from relatedness. The authors conclude that Blatt's and Beck's concepts are continuous, nearly orthogonal dimensions that can be identified and measured independently from Neuroticism, depression, and social context.

Developmental Antecedents of Cognitive Vulnerability to Depression: Review of Findings From the Cognitive Vulnerability to Depression Project

In this article, we review findings from the Temple-Wisconsin Cognitive Vulnerability to Depression (CVD) Project (Alloy & Abramson, 1999) regarding potential developmental antecedents of cognitive vulnerability to depression after first briefly summarizing the evidence from the project that negative cognitive styles, information processing, and rumination do, in fact, provide vulnerability to depression. Based on the project findings, we suggest that a continuum of negative emotional feedback, ranging from low emotional warmth/acceptance and negative inferential feedback at the milder end to emotional abuse at the more severe end, may play an important role in the development of cognitive vulnerability to depression and depression itself.

Parental care and personality in melancholic and nonmelancholic depression

The authors hypothesized that low parental care is linked to nonmelancholic depression through depressive personality traits and personality dysfunction. This hypothesis was tested using path analysis with data provided from a sample of patients meeting DSM-IV criteria for major depression and distinguished on the basis of melancholic symptoms. The results supported their hypothesis. Lack of parental care was associated with self-critical traits, and higher levels of these traits were associated with personality dysfunction, which in turn was associated with nonmelancholic, but not melancholic, depression. Dependent traits were uniquely associated with the onset of an anxiety disorder before the first episode of depression. Researchers interested in the link between personality and depression are encouraged to focus their efforts on patients whose depressive episodes do not meet DSM-IV criteria for melancholia, and on the personality dimension of self-criticism rather than dependency.

Self-esteem in schizophrenia: relationships between self-evaluation, family attitudes, and symptomatology

Participants with schizophrenia (N = 59) were assessed on self-evaluation, symptomatology, and positive and negative affect (expressed emotion) from significant others. An interview-based measure of self-evaluation was used and two independent dimensions of self-esteem were derived: negative and positive evaluation of self. As predicted, negative self-evaluation was strongly associated with positive symptoms, a more critical attitude from family members was associated with greater negative self-evaluation, and analyses supported a model whereby the impact of criticism on patients' positive symptoms was mediated by its association with negative self-evaluation. The interview-based method of self-esteem assessment was found to be superior to the questionnaire because its predictive effects remained after depressed mood was accounted for.

Stability of memories of parental rearing among psychiatric inpatients: a replication based on EMBU subscales

With regard to information about parental rearing, retrospective data are exclusively available among adults. These data are vulnerable due to various biases. This study was performed in order to replicate the findings of overall stability of three perceived parental rearing factors of the EMBU (Swedish acronym for 'own memories of childhood upbringing') based on 14 rather detailed subscales. A consecutive sample of 220 depressive inpatients were investigated on admission and at discharge by means of the EMBU, the Beck Depression Inventory and the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale. Perceived parental rearing scores showed high stability despite clinically significant changes in the severity of depression, except for 'tolerance', 'guilt engendering', 'performance orientation' and 'shaming' parenting with probable gender-specific effects which were found to covary with dysfunctional attitudes. Recall of parenting should be taken as a subjective truth when it is assessed by standardised behaviour-oriented questionnaires like the EMBU.

Can doctors self-manage stress?

The NHS has expressed concern about stress in its workforce and is taking steps to reduce it. This paper reviews the factors associated with stress and burnout throughout a medical career. Clear messages emerge for all doctors and their employers.

The relationship of parental style to depression and self-esteem in adulthood

Previous studies have implicated low parental care and parental overprotection as risk factors for depression in adulthood. The present study further examined the association between perceived parental style and depression in two samples of medical students. In general, both low maternal and paternal care were associated with depression. Furthermore, maternal overprotection in the U.S. sample and paternal overprotection in the Scottish sample were also associated with depression. However, when results were analyzed separately for men and women, clear gender differences emerged, indicating that the observed relationships were occurring chiefly in the men, although there were some indications that low paternal care was associated with depression in women. Because such gender differences have not been previously reported, women medical students may be a unique group with respect to these relationships. Also intriguing was that although parental style characteristics demonstrated significant associations with self-esteem, this was clearly true only for men and not for women. Finally, the study provided the first partial support for the hypothesis that self-esteem mediates the relationship between parental style and depression.

Perceived relationships with parents among adolescent inpatients with depressive preoccupations and depressed mood

Hypothesized that two types of "depressogenic" preoccupations (self-critical and interpersonal), measured by the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire for adolescents (DEQ-A; Blatt, Shaffer, Bars, & Quinlan, 1992), would mediate associations between perceived difficulties with parents and adolescent depression. Adolescent inpatients between 11 and 17 years of age (N = 295; 158 girls) in an acute-care psychiatric hospital completed the DEQ-A, a Reynolds (1986, 1989) depression questionnaire, and measures that assess experiences of alienation (vs. dependency) and separation-individuation conflicts in the adolescent-parent relationship. Alienation and counterdependency in relation to parents were associated with self-critical concerns; excessive closeness and dependency with interpersonal concerns; and separation-individuation conflicts with both types of concerns. Self-critical and interpersonal concerns were linked to adolescent depression and accounted for most of the variance initially explained by difficulties with parents.

Self-esteem and self-efficacy; perceived parenting and family climate; and depression in university students

This study examined associations among self-esteem and self-efficacy; perceived unfavorable Parental Rearing Style (perceived PRS) and unfavorable family climate in the family of origin; and depression in undergraduates still in frequent contact with their families (N = 186). Unfavorable perceived PRS and family climate were construed as "affectionless control," in which parents and family provide little affection, but excessive control. Constructs were measured by the Self-Esteem Inventory, the Self-Efficacy Scale, the Child Report of Parental Behavior Inventory, the Family Environment Scale, and the Beck Inventory. Perceived "affectionless control" in both PRS and family climate accounted for about 13% of the variance in self-esteem, self-efficacy, and depression. Neither introversion nor depression mediated the relation between family socialization and self-esteem.

Social anxiety and perception of early parenting among American, Chinese American, and social phobic samples

Emotionally distant and controlling child-rearing attitudes have been reported to characterize the parents of American or western European social phobics in previous research. However, the notion that these parental attitudes may be associated with social anxiety only in some cultures has not been investigated. The present study examined social anxiety among American social phobics and American and Chinese/Chinese American volunteer samples and how it may relate to their parents' child-rearing attitudes. Multivariate analyses of variance revealed overall group differences. Both volunteer samples reported lower levels of anxiety than social phobics. Parents of Chinese/Chinese Americans and social phobics were reported to be similar in their (1) isolation of children from social activities; (2) over-emphasis of others' opinions; and (3) use of shame tactics for discipline (more so than American volunteers' parents). However, parents of nonsocial phobics were more likely to attend family social activities than social phobics' parents. Overall, the association between a reported parenting style emphasizing others' opinions and shame tactics and social anxiety in their adult children was more evident in both American samples than among Chinese/Chinese Americans.

Relationships between depression and attachment styles in parent- and institution-reared Turkish children

The present study, using a sample of Turkish children, aimed to test two attachment-theory predictions: (a) institution-reared children who were separated from their parents at an early age are less likely to have secure attachment schemata than children from two-parent families, and (b) depressive schemata are positively related to insecure attachment schemata and negatively related to secure attachment schemata. Following a systems-theory perspective, we also predicted that the relationship between depression and attachment styles would be stronger for institution-reared children than for children from two-parent families. Hazan and Shaver's (1987) attachment-style items and the Beck Depression Inventory were administered to 20 institution-reared and 20 parent-reared boys by a female interviewer. The results supported the first two predictions of the study.