Self‐criticism, dependency, and adolescents' externalising and internalising problems

Abstract

Objectives: The present study examines the role of dependency (interpersonal relatedness) and self-criticism (self-definition) in internalising and externalising problems.Methods: Three hundred forty-six suburban Portuguese high-school students age 14-18 (mean = 16.14, standard deviation = 1.19) responded to the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire and the Youth Self-Report. The impact of depression, measured by the Children's Depression Inventory, on the relationship of dependency and self-criticism on internalising and externalising problem behaviours was examined.Results: Both self-criticism and dependency, controlled for level of depression, were associated with internalising behaviour problems in both girls and boys. Gender differences, however, were observed in externalising problems. Externalising problems in boys were also associated with self-criticism. But externalising problems in girls were not associated with psychological variables and thus may be more a function of environmental rather than psychological factors.Conclusions: Implications of these findings for intervention are discussed. Key Points1 Clinical interventions with adolescents should focus on the personality qualities of dependency and self-criticism as the motivational force behind the disturbed internalising and externalising behaviour. Internal representations of worthlessness or inferiority that are part of self-criticism could be amenable to change in psychotherapy. Psychotherapy can also be helpful in addressing issues of loneliness, and feelings and fears of abandonment typical of the anaclitic personality configuration. 2 Observed differences between girls and boys have important therapeutic implications and suggest that externalising symptoms in girls may be the consequence of factors other than personality dimensions, possibly socioeconomic factors and peer relationships. 3 The Depressive Experiences Questionnaire for adolescents appears to make important contributions to the assessment of these personality dimensions.Blatt

The Explanatory Role of Basic Psychological Need Experiences in the Relation between Dependency, Self-Criticism and Psychopathology in Adolescence

“…In contrast, the association between dependency and externalizing problems would be less strong or even absent due to the non-assertive, accommodating interpersonal style and the excessive concern about losing other people's love associated with dependency, features that would lead individuals to inhibit aggression or rulebreaking behavior. While most previous research found dependency to relate primarily with internalizing problems (Campos et al, 2014;Kuperminc et al, 1997;Leadbeater et al, 1999), in the present study, dependency related positively to both internalizing and externalizing…”

“…Empirical studies on Blatt's theory initially focused on the role of dependency and self-criticism in depression (Blatt et al, 1976). More recently, self-criticism and dependency have been conceptualized as transdiagnostic vulnerability factors (Blatt & Luyten, 2009), given that they were found to relate to several types of psychopathology (e.g., depression, anxiety, suicidality, and eating disorders) in both adults (Blatt, 2008) and adolescents Campos, Besser, Morgado, & Blatt, 2014). Research in adolescents has shown that, while self-criticism is related to both internalizing and externalizing problems, dependency is uniquely related to internalizing problems (Leadbeater, Kuperminc, Blatt, & Hertzog, 1999;Kuperminc, Blatt, & Leadbeater, 1997).…”

The relationship of internalizing problems with emotional intelligence and social skills in secondary education students: gender differences

“…These results indicate how social skills and EI may act as protectors of these internalizing problems, which agrees with former research (Bubic & Ivanisevic, 2016;Martínez-Martí & Ruch, 2017;Trickey, Siddaway, Meider-Stedman, Serpell, & Field, 2012) that indicated the relationship between internalizing problems and the social competence variables. Internalizing problems (depression, anxiety, social anxiety, somatic complaints, post-traumatic symptoms, and obsession-compulsion) have been previously interrelated in recent works (Campos et al, 2014;Senzik, Shäfer, Samson, Naumann, & Tuschen-Caffier, 2017), but these works did not analyze the importance of their relationship with EI and social skills, which the present research indicates. As expected, and to a greater or lesser extent, the internalizing problem factors showed an inverse relationship with EI and social skills.…”

“…The literature outlines differences between males and females in the prevalence of different psychological disorders in infancy and adolescence (Crick & Grotpeker, 1995;Ortuño-Sierra, Fonseca-Pedrero, Sastre, & Muñiz, 2017). For instance, males are two to four times more likely to present conduct problems (Campos, Besser, Morgado, & Blatt, 2014;Navarro-Pardo, Meléndez, Sales, & Sancerni, 2012), while females present more emotional problems (Chaplin & Aldao, 2013;Schäfer, Naumann, Holmes, Tuschen-Caffier & Samson, 2017).…”

The relationship between attachment styles and internalizing/externalizing problems: The mediating role of self-criticism

“…Other studies found that higher levels of self-criticism were associated with more internalizing as well as externalizing problems in both girls and boys (e.g. 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 Campos, Besser, Morgado, & Blatt, 2014). Finally, while self-criticism tends to be associated with internalizing problems in both males and females, some evidence has found gender differences in the association of these traits with externalizing problems.…”