Researchers create first-of-its-kind measure of child self-criticism

Researchers have created a new scale designed to capture and measure the concept of self-criticism in children, as mental health concerns rise across the world.

The Child Self-Criticism Scale was created by researchers at the University of Derby to be used in educational and community settings to measure the emotional wellbeing of children aged seven to 11.

The research responds to the rising number of children in the UK with mental health issues – with one in five children and young people in England reported as having a probable mental disorder in 2023.

Professor Frances Maratos, Professor of Psychology and Affective Science at the University of Derby and lead researcher on the project, said:

“Social and competitive environmental pressures, combined with changes in self-identity, make self-criticism especially problematic in the identity-forming phase of childhood.

“Research shows that a tendency towards self-criticism is a major vulnerability to future mental health problems and disorders – especially childhood depression. However, no robust measure of self-criticism exists for use with child populations, and there is no existing research examining the effects of child self-criticism on future psychopathologies or general social and emotional development. Our measure addresses this gap.”

Professor Maratos, Dr Hajra Ashra, Dr Edward Stupple and Dr Chris Barnes from the University of Derby have spent more than two years developing and testing the new scale, including many phases of development, according to best practice guidelines.

The 15-item measure enables understanding – and reporting of – a child’s tendency to be ‘criticising to self’ and ‘reassuring to self’, informed by the language children use.

Professor Maratos said:

“This is the first time that children have been used as experts to inform a scale of this kind.  

“It ensures the scale is age-appropriate and robust in measuring the experience of ‘self-critical’ emotions in children through accessible language at the level of child emotional understanding.

“Scales of this kind are rare, as most current methods either repurpose generic child clinical measures or repurpose adult measures adapted for children via slight re-wording, so they are simply not suitable.

“We believe our scale will be invaluable for researchers wanting to monitor wellbeing – and to what extent increases and decreases in self-criticism – affect child wellbeing.

“We anticipate it will also be a very useful measurement tool across many educational and community settings, especially given the crucial role child wellbeing plays in long-term flourishing, mental health, and future life outcomes.”

The research into self-criticism builds upon the work of Professor Maratos and her team as part of the University of Derby’s Compassion in Education Programme of Research and Training.

Over the past nine years, the team, who are leading experts in the development of Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) and Compassionate Mind Training (CMT), has developed several CPDs and curriculums to improve the wellbeing of both pupils and staff in the education sector.

Researchers at the University of Derby hope that the open-access Child Self-Criticism Scale will now be introduced in schools by teachers and other professionals to measure negative emotions effectively and help inform early interventions.

View the full report on ‘The development and validation of the child self-criticism scale’.

Find out more about research at the University of Derby.