Breaking the anxious cycle of self-criticism: Action orientation buffers the detrimental effects of a self-critical personality style.

BACKGROUND

A self-critical personality style has been associated with psychological symptoms such as depression and anxiety. Self-critical people also tend to strive more anxiously for basic motives such as affiliation, achievement, power, and autonomy. This anxious motive enactment mediates the relationship between self-critical style and psychological symptoms that may, in turn, reinforce self-criticism. The present study examines whether action orientation (i.e., a high self-regulatory ability) offers a way out of this anxious cycle and buffers the detrimental effects of self-criticism.

METHODS

A coaching- and therapy-based sample (N = 479, age: 14-71 years) was collected by a private German institute as part of the assessment, research, and training program. Data were collected online in form of questionnaires. We performed moderated mediation analysis to test our hypothesis.

RESULTS

The relationship between self-critical style and psychological symptoms was mediated by anxious motive enactment. Action orientation moderated the link between self-critical style and anxious motive enactment and buffered the effects of a self-critical style on both anxious motive enactment and psychological symptoms.

LIMITATIONS: The study used cross-sectional data and should be followed-up longitudinally. Our data come only from self-report and could be extended to non-reactive measures.

CONCLUSIONS

The detrimental effects of a self-critical personality style in terms of anxious motive enactment and psychological symptoms are more severe when self-regulation (action orientation) is low. The findings have practical implications for clinical work because action orientation is malleable. The ability to self-regulate affect is comparatively easier to train than to ease self-critical people's inherent affect sensitivity.