Self-Criticism and Dependency

Self-criticism and dependency are personality constructs that confer risk for a wide range of psychopathological and negative psychosocial outcomes. Self-criticism is characterized by a poor sense of self-worth, fear of failure, a sense of guilt, and excessive concerns about social status. Dependency is characterized by a sense of self-worth that is dependent on care and support from close others, as well as excessive fears of loss, abandonment, and rejection. This entry examines these constructs with regard to psychosocial development, personality, and psychopathology.

The Two-Polarities Model of Psychosocial Development

In 1974, Sidney Blatt, a psychologist and psychoanalyst at Yale University, proposed that there are two subtypes of depression, which he labeled anaclitic (dependent) and introjective (self-critical). Individuals who are anaclitically depressed are characterized by a sense of ...

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