“I’m so dumb and worthless right now”: Factors associated with heightened momentary self-criticism in daily life

Abstract

The trait of self-criticism is a transdiagnostic risk factor for psychopathology. Although self-criticism is certainly an individual difference, whereby people higher in self-criticism are more vulnerable to psychopathology compared to people low in self-criticism, self-criticism is also something people can do in moments of time. The current study describes the development of a brief index of momentary self-criticism using ecological momentary assessment, with the aim of exploring factors associated with heightened self-criticism in daily life. Participants (N = 197) received five random prompts per day for one week on their mobile phones, where they reported their current affect (negative and positive affect), willpower self-efficacy, distress intolerance, current social support, degree of criticism from others, current context (location, activity, hunger, tiredness) and momentary self-criticism. We first validated the new 3-item index of momentary self-criticism by demonstrating that self-criticism varies over time and across contexts, and is also associated with heightened trait self-criticism. Then, using multilevel modeling, we explored the contextual factors associated with greater self-criticism, as well as the psychological factors. We found that self-criticism was higher when people were at home, and more tired. We also found higher self-criticism to be associated with greater negative and lower positive affect, greater distress intolerance, lower willpower, and greater perceived criticism from others. In addition, prior prompt negative affect and perceived criticism from others predicted subsequent self-criticism. This study provides evidence that self-criticism is not only a trait, but an activity that varies over time.

Examining state self‐criticism and self‐efficacy as factors underlying hopelessness and suicidal ideation

“…For manipulation checks, participants were then asked questions addressing their imagined willpower, distress tolerance and coping self‐efficacy (same as Study 1), and both self‐criticism and self‐compassion. These included the three self‐compassion items from the state self‐criticism scale (Neff et al., 2020), and five items from a brief index of momentary self‐criticism (e.g., “I'm mentally beating myself up right now”) originally developed for experience sampling (Veilleux et al., 2023), with items given on a scale from 0 ( not at all ) to 6 ( extremely ). Both the self‐compassion ( α = 0.72) and self‐criticism items ( α = 0.93) had good reliability.…”

“…Thus far, associations between self‐criticism and suicidality have been primarily examined at a trait level. However, even people who tend toward harsh and judgmental views of the self are not self‐critical in all situations, and self‐criticism can vary over time (Veilleux et al., 2023; Zuroff et al., 2016). Recent work demonstrated that state self‐criticism and state self‐punishment cognitions were associated with concurrent urges to engage in non‐suicidal self‐injury (Burke, Fox, Kautz, Rodriguez‐Seijas, et al., 2021; Forkmann et al., 2018).…”

“…Notably, our predictions are particularly well‐suited for research methods that assess dynamic fluctuations in momentary attributes (e.g., experience sampling). However, because examination of self‐criticism and self‐regulation, self‐efficacy as time‐varying attributes is relatively novel (Veilleux et al., 2023; Veilleux, Warner, et al., 2021; Zuroff et al., 2016), the current studies were intended as “proof of concept” studies to provide a rationale for examining these variables in a more resource‐intensive experience sampling design. In both studies, we recruited people with a history of mental health issues to focus on people who are at risk for suicidal ideation.…”