Contributions of trait, domain, and signature components of self-criticism to stress generation

Abstract The personality trait of self-criticism has been linked to many life difficulties, including psychiatric disorders (Blatt, 2004). One process by which self-criticism gives rise to dysphoria is through stress generation; self-critical individuals interpret and act upon their environments in ways that increase their experiences of hassles and stressors (Zuroff et al., 2004). The present article distinguishes three stress generation pathways corresponding to Zuroff et al.'s (2021) proposed decomposition of variance in self-criticism across eight domains of the self into: 1) trait (mean) self-criticism; 2) normative domain-level self-criticism, and 3) the person × domain interaction (self-criticism signature). In two studies, college students reported levels of self-criticism, hassles, negative affect (NA), and positive affect (PA) across eight self-domains. Multilevel structural equation modeling demonstrated significant indirect (mediated) effects of all three components of self-criticism on NA through increased hassles. Generally similar, but weaker, effects were found for increased hassles predicting lower PA. Stress generation is a more complex process than previously realized, arising not only from elevated trait self-criticism, but also from person-specific patterns of elevation and normative differences in domains of high self-criticism. Directions for future research and clinical implications of an expanded view of self-criticism and stress generation are considered.