Search

Recent works in personality and psychopathology emphasize both trait and state self-criticism as transdiagnostic risk factors for mental disorders. Yet, common screening and intake measures do not include assessment of state self-criticism. We provide a reanalysis of data from nine samples (total N=1,442), with the aim to identify and validate a state self-criticism subscale within the Brief Symptoms Inventory (BSI), a popular and extensively researched instrument for the assessment of general and specific psychopathology. We identified four potential state self-criticism subscales, comprising three to five items, tapping the experience of self-criticism. All state self-criticism subscales demonstrated good internal consistency and test-retest reliability. In addition, all subscales were highly correlated with psychopathology and low psychological well-being, thus suggesting strong convergent validity. Furthermore, all subscales demonstrated incremental predictive validity, when predicting psychological distress, depression, brooding and suicidal ideations, above and beyond trait self-criticism. Interestingly, our results show no clear advantage for one subscale over the others. Findings contribute to contemporary personality science, attesting to the importance of assessing personality on both trait and state features. We discuss clinical implications and offer clinicians a brief alternative to longer screening methods, focusing on currently 'inflamed' and distressing aspects of experience, namely the self-critical experience.

The current worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has elicited widespread concerns and stress. Arguably, healthcare workers are especially vulnerable to experience burnout during these times due to the nature of their work. Indeed, high prevalence of burnout was found among healthcare workers during the outbreak. However, the individual differences predicting burnout among healthcare workers during the pandemic have been understudied. The aim of the current study was, therefore, to identify risk and protective factors contributing to the severity of burnout among healthcare workers, above and beyond levels of current psychological distress. The survey was distributed online during the period April 13–28, 2020, approximately two months after the first COVID-19 case was identified in Israel. Ninety-eight healthcare workers completed an online survey administered cross-sectionally via the Qualtrics platform that included questionnaires assessing habitual emotion regulation strategies (i.e., trait worry, reappraisal, and suppression), psychological distress, COVID-19 related concerns, and burnout. A hierarchical linear regression analysis revealed that only trait worry and psychological distress were significant predictors of job burnout among healthcare workers. These findings highlight the role of maladaptive emotion regulation tendencies, specifically trait worry, in job burnout among healthcare workers. These findings have implications for both the assessment and treatment of healthcare workers. We discuss potential mechanisms and implications for practice.

Much has been said about the severe mental health consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic-a collective trauma, defined as an epidemiological and psychological crisis (American Psychological Association, 2020)-both in the present and in the foreseeable future. A large body of evidence suggests that mentalizing is a beneficial transtheoretical and transdiagnostic concept not only for understanding vulnerability to psychopathology but also in its treatment (for review, see Luyten, Campbell, Allison, & Fonagy, 2020). The current commentary therefore seeks to consider the COVID-19 pandemic-related risks for psychopathology but also discuss the clinical opportunities of the situation by incorporating a perspective of mentalization theory and practice.