Assessing self-criticism and self-reassurance: Examining psychometric properties and clinical usefulness of the Short-Form of the Forms of Self-Criticizing/Attacking & Self-Reassuring Scale (FSCRS-SF) in Spanish sample

Abstract

The Forms of Self-Criticizing/Attacking and Self-Reassuring Scale (FSCRS) was designed to measure self-criticism (SC) through Inadequate Self (IS) and Hated Self (HS) factors, as well as self-reassurance (RS). However, its long and short forms have yet to be validated in the Spanish Population. The present study examines the psychometric properties of the short form (FSCRS-SF) and its clinical usefulness in a sample of 576 adult individuals, 77 with psychiatric disorders and 499 without. Non-clinical participants were split according to their previous experience with meditation (active meditators, n = 133; non-active meditators, n = 41; and non-meditators, n = 325) and differences between these subgroups were explored. Additionally, a subsample of 20 non-clinical participants took part in a mindfulness- and compassion- based intervention (MCBI) to assess the usefulness of the scale as an outcome measure. Results confirmed the original three-factorial structure, good internal consistency, acceptable test-retest reliability, and a pattern of correlations consistent with previous literature. Regarding differences between groups, the clinical subsample showed significant higher SC and lower RS levels than non-clinical participants and active meditators had significant lower IS and higher RS levels than non-meditators. Participants who participated in the MCBI showed significant RS improvement and a decrease in IS and HS levels. Moreover, a hierarchical multiple regression showed that RS made a significant predictive contribution to distress at three months’ time. In conclusion, results show that the Spanish version of the FSCRS-SF is a reliable and valid measure of SC and RS in non-clinical populations and an adequate instrument to detect changes after MCBIs.

Effectiveness of a positive psychology and mindfulness-based app on mental health for parents of children with a neurodevelopmental disorder: study protocol of a pragmatic international randomized controlled trial

“…Sum scores will be calculated (0–20), with higher scores being indicative for a larger sense of self-reassurance. Psychometric properties were evaluated and found to be good [ 19 , 55 , 65 ].…”

“…Sum scores will be calculated (0-20), with higher scores being indicative for a larger sense of self-reassurance. Psychometric properties were evaluated and found to be good [19,55,65]. Psychological flexibility will be measured with the 7-item Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II; [8]).…”

Threatening Beliefs About Self and Others Moderate the Association Between Psychoticism and Psychological Distress

“…Self-critical beliefs are common in both nonclinical populations (Navarrete et al, 2021) and among individuals with psychosis (Birchwood et al, 2007), and they are an established risk factor for psychopathology in general (Gilbert et al, 2004(Gilbert et al, , 2006 and psychoticism specifically (Gumley et al, 2010;Heriot-Maitland et al, 2019). Self-critical people tend to perceive interpersonal experiences in a way that focuses on personal inadequacies and shame and to see others as judgmental (Gilbert et al, 2006).…”

The Toronto Mindfulness Scale and the State Mindfulness Scale: psychometric properties of the Spanish versions

“…Higher scores indicate higher selfcriticism (ranging from 0 to 20 scores in inadequacy subscale; ranging from 0 to 16 scores of self-hate subscale) and self-reassurance (ranging from 0 to 20 scores). The Spanish version was used here (Navarrete et al, 2021c). In this sample, the scores showed adequate internal consistency for the inadequate self (α = 0.81), hated self (α = 0.80), and reassured self (α = 0.79) scales.…”