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

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.