Cognitive-Behavioural Research Centre, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal.
Clin Psychol Psychother. 2014 Jan-Feb;21(1):73-81. doi: 10.1002/cpp.1821. Epub 2012 Oct 15.
Research has robustly shown that early negative parenting experiences are associated with psychopathology and self-criticism in adulthood. This study investigates recall of personal feelings of perceived threat and subordination in childhood and its relation to psychopathology. In addition, we explore the mediator role of self-criticism in this association. A sample of 193 subjects from the general population completed self-report questionnaires measuring the study variables. The mediator analyses suggested that the impact of submissiveness experiences in childhood on depression and anxiety is mediated by self-criticism. Our findings highlight the route through which the recall of personal feelings of perceived involuntary subordination to parents contributes to depression and anxiety in adulthood.
Although the relation between early experiences of abuse and later psychological problems is now well established, there has been less study on subtler forms of threat and subordinate behaviour in childhood. Given ours and previous findings, therapists should be aware of, and prone to explore, these early experiences. Most studies exploring early negative experiences mainly refer to attachment theory-related constructs (e.g., attachment style). We also highlight the importance of noting rank structure and rank style in the family. Self-criticism seems to be a key process in the relation between early aversive experiences of subordination and psychopathology. Given the idea that self-reassuring operates through a different affect system, helping people develop inner warmth and compassion for the self may be important to counteract feelings of self-hatred and self-attack.
研究有力地表明，早期消极的育儿经历与成年后的精神病理学和自我批评有关。本研究调查了对童年时期感知到的威胁和从属的个人感受的回忆及其与精神病理学的关系。此外，我们还探讨了自我批判在这种关联中的中介作用。一般人群中的 193 名受试者完成了自我报告问卷，测量了研究变量。中介分析表明，童年时期顺从经历对抑郁和焦虑的影响是由自我批判介导的。我们的研究结果强调了对父母的个人感受的回忆是如何导致成年后抑郁和焦虑的。
虽然现在已经充分证实了早期虐待经历与以后的心理问题之间的关系，但对儿童时期更微妙的威胁和从属行为的研究较少。鉴于我们和以前的研究结果，治疗师应该意识到这些早期经历，并倾向于探索这些经历。大多数探索早期负面经历的研究主要涉及依恋理论相关的结构（例如，依恋风格）。我们还强调了注意家庭中的等级结构和等级风格的重要性。自我批评似乎是早期的从属经历与精神病理学之间关系的一个关键过程。鉴于自我安慰的想法是通过不同的情感系统运作的，帮助人们培养对自我的内在温暖和同情心，可能对对抗自我仇恨和自我攻击的感觉很重要。
