The inner critical voice among university students and patients with depression – A linguistic analysis of self-criticism

Self-criticism is considered an important vulnerability factor for the development and maintenance of psychopathological symptoms. Mostly assessed as trait via self-report, information about its linguistic features is rare. The following study explored individual differences of self-criticism of 184 university students (84.2% female) and 45 inpatients in treatment for a depressive disorder (62.2% female). Participants verbalized self-critical thoughts after a standardized induction of negative emotions, talking out loud to themselves as their “inner critic”. Participants’ self-criticism was analyzed by conducting a linguistic analysis with a quantitative word count tool (Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count – LIWC). Self-criticism was also measured with an established self-report instrument, alongside measures of self-compassion and depressive symptoms for validation. Non-parametric Spearman rank correlations between the linguistic features of the “inner critic”, self-reported self-criticism, self-compassion, and depressive symptoms have been conducted. Furthermore, group differences between university students and patients have been explored. In both subsamples, small significant relations between the language categories and self-reported self-criticism, self-compassion, and depressive symptoms became evident, ranging from |ρ| = .13 to |ρ| = .39. There were slightly different patterns in students and patients, indicating qualitative differences in clinically relevant self-criticism and non-pathogenic self-reflection. University students used significantly fewer pronouns than patients with depression when acting as their “inner critic” ( t = −5.14, p < .001) and less negative emotion words ( t = −4.19, p < .001), particularly words indicating sadness ( t = −3.18, p = .003). Employing different assessment methods of self-criticism and comparing clinical and non-clinical samples adds valuable information for a better understanding of the cognitive-affective processes underlying self-criticism. The results can inform clinical practice and public mental health strategies aimed at promoting mental health and preventing or treating mental disorders.