Dependency, self-criticism, and perceptions of inferiority at summer camp: I'm even worse than you think

Abstract

This research examined dependency and self-criticism and their relation to depression and social-personal adjustment. Seventy-seven subjects at a summer day camp, aged 8–14 years, completed the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire devised by Blatt et al. in 1992, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children devised in 1980, and a measure of self-esteem (SE) devised by Harter in 1982. Each subject was rated independently by two counselors on social, athletic, and general functioning. Results revealed that self-criticism, but not dependency, was positively related to depression. Moreover, self-criticism was associated with negative self-ratings in social and sports domains and in general SE. Counselor ratings confirmed social problems and perceptions of low SE for self-critics. Dependency was unrelated to self or counselor ratings, except for a trend toward a positive relation for social functioning. Analyses indicated a discrepancy between self and counselor ratings for self-critics but not for dependents, so that self-critics appear to exaggerate their weaknesses in social and athletic functioning. Finally, self-criticism decreased with age, while dependency was unrelated to age.