Forms of Self-Criticizing and Self-Reassuring Scale: Adaptation and early findings in a sample of Portuguese children

3.º Congresso Internacional de Saúde do IPLeiria “Saúde, alterações demográficas e bem-estar”. Campus do Instituto Politécnico de Leiria, 6 e 7 de maio de 2016.Background Self-criticism is characterized by self-blame and negative selfjudgements, often associated with the onset of psychopathology and interpersonal difficulties. Two forms of self-criticism were conceptualized: the inadequate self (feelings of inadequacy or deficiency), and the hated self (more intense feelings of self-disgust and aggressiveness directed towards the self). On the other hand, the reassured self was conceptualized as the acceptance of past failure and mistakes, which is believed to be a protective factor against psychological problems. Objective: This study is aimed at adapting and presenting preliminary findings on the Forms of Self-Criticizing and Self-Reassuring Scale for Portuguese children (FSCSR-C). Methods: A sample of 127 children participated in this study and were administered a research protocol including the FSCSR-C. Results: after deleting items that presented reliability and saturation problems, exploratory factor analysis with orthogonal rotation yielded a 3-factor solution that explained 49.33 % of the total FSCRS-C scores. The measure revealed a good internal consistency of the 3 factors found in the exploratory analysis: Inadequate self (α = 0.66), hated self (α = 0.73), reassured self (α = 0.69). Convergent and divergent validity were established with measures of shame and emotional intelligence. Conclusions: Self-criticism can make individuals more vulnerable to psychopathology in adult life, and that such internal relationship models may arise early in childhood. Findings indicate that the FSCRS-C is and adequate measure to assess self-criticizing and self-reassuring in children with 8 years old or above. The FSCRS-C may constitute an important contribution for future research and in the development of preventive and intervention strategies for children.