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Dysphoria and components of self-punitiveness: A re-analysis

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Abstract

The present study utilized alternative means of assessment to reexamine the extent to which various cognitive dimensions of self-punitiveness are related to depression. Previous research with the Attitudes Toward Self Scale (ATS) has found that the overgeneralization subscale is associated with depression but subscale measures of self-criticism and high self-standards are not related to depression. The extent to which these findings reflect the inherent features of the ATS and its subscales is not known. In the present study, the roles of self-criticism and high self-standards were re-assessed by having a sample of 102 subjects complete the ATS and its three subscales, the self-criticism subscale of Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ), the high self-expectancies subscale of the Irrational Beliefs Test (IBT), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Analyses that focused solely on the measures derived from the ATS closely replicated past results and confirmed that only the ATS overgeneralization subscale is related to depression. In contrast, other analyses involving the substitute measures of self-punitiveness for the corresponding ATS subscales showed that self-criticism, high self-standards, and overgeneralization were all correlated with depression. A hierarchical regression analysis performed with the substitute measures found that the interaction of all three measures accounted for unique variance in depression scores. It is concluded that self-punitiveness is indeed multidimensional and overgeneralization, self-criticism, and high self-standards are important cognitive correlates of depression. The results are discussed in terms of issues related to the assessment of individual differences in self-punitiveness.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, York University, 4700 Keele Street, M3J 1P3, North York, Ontario, Canada

    Gordon L. Flett

  2. Brockville Psychiatric Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, University of Ottawa, Canada

    Paul L. Hewitt

  3. Cambridge Memorial Hospital, Canada

    Walter M. Mittelstaedt

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  1. Gordon L. Flett
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  2. Paul L. Hewitt
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Flett, G.L., Hewitt, P.L. & Mittelstaedt, W.M. Dysphoria and components of self-punitiveness: A re-analysis. Cogn Ther Res 15, 201–219 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01173014

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