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The monastic practice of confessing faults communally (capituli culparum) was partially altered following the Second Vatican Council. Additionally, new forms emerged that emphasise analysing and correcting improper conduct and reinforcing desirable behaviour, rather than merely engaging in self-criticism and penance. Both the classical capitulum culparum and its derived forms occur with varying frequency. Sociologically, an order manifests features of a Goffmanian total institution. This article aims to present a broad spectrum of practices from the political perspective, discussing both their intended goals, and above all, their real meaning as an instrument of power. This study is based on documents from religious communities in Poland and individual interviews with its members.

Compassion-focused therapy (CFT) is a relatively novel form of psychotherapy that was developed for people who have mental health problems primarily linked to high shame and self-criticism. The aim of this early systematic review was to draw together the current research evidence of the effectiveness of CFT as a psychotherapeutic intervention, and to provide recommendations that may inform the development of further trials. A comprehensive search of electronic databases was undertaken to systematically identify literature relating to the effectiveness of CFT as a psychotherapeutic intervention. Reference lists of key journals were hand searched and contact with experts in the field was made to identify unpublished data. Fourteen studies were included in the review, including three randomized controlled studies. The findings from the included studies were, in the most part, favourable to CFT, and in particular seemed to be effective for people who were high in self-criticism. CFT shows promise as an intervention for mood disorders, particularly those high in self-criticism. However, more large-scale, high-quality trials are needed before it can be considered evidence-based practice. The review highlights issues from the current evidence that may be used to inform such trials.

Growing evidence suggests that positive mental health or wellbeing protects against psychopathology. How and why those who flourish derive these resilient outcomes is, however, unknown. This exploratory study investigated if self - compassion , as it continuously provides a friendly, accepting and situational context for negative experiences, functions as a resilience mechanism and adaptive emotion regulation strategy that protects against psychopathology for those with high levels of positive mental health. Participants from the general population (n = 349) provided measures at one time-point on positive mental health (MHC-SF), self-compassion (SCS-SF), psychopathology (HADS) and negative affect (mDES). Self-compassion significantly mediated the negative relationship between positive mental health and psychopathology. Furthermore, higher levels of self-compassion attenuated the relationship between state negative affect and psychopathology. Findings suggest that especially individuals with high levels of positive mental health possess self-compassion skills that promote resilience against psychopathology. These might function as an adaptive emotion regulation strategy and protect against the activation of schema related to psychopathology following state negative affective experiences. Enhancing self-compassion is a promising positive intervention for clinical practice. It will not only impact psychopathology through reducing factors like rumination and self-criticism, but also improve positive mental health by enhancing factors such as kindness and positive emotions. This may reduce the future risk of psychopathology.

There is evidence that universal school-based mindfulness training (SBMT) can have positive effects for young people. However, it is unknown who benefits most from such training, how training exerts effects, and how implementation impacts effects. This study aimed to provide an overview of the evidence on the mediators, moderators, and implementation factors of SBMT, and propose a conceptual model that can be used both to summarize the evidence and provide a framework for future research. A scoping review was performed, and six databases and grey literature were searched. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied to select relevant material. Quantitative and qualitative information was extracted from eligible articles and reported in accordance with PRISMA-ScR guidelines. The search produced 5479 articles, of which 31 were eligible and included in the review. Eleven studies assessed moderators of SBMT on pupil outcomes, with mixed findings for all variables tested. Five studies examined the mediating effect of specific variables on pupil outcomes, with evidence that increases in mindfulness skills and decreases in cognitive reactivity and self-criticism post-intervention are related to better pupil outcomes at follow-up. Twenty-five studies assessed implementation factors. We discuss key methodological shortcomings of included studies and integrate our findings with existing implementation frameworks to propose a conceptual model. Widespread interest in universal SBMT has led to increased research over recent years, exploring who SBMT works for and how it might work, but the current evidence is limited. We make recommendations for future research and provide a conceptual model to guide theory-led developments.

Little is known about how mental health symptoms develop during the transition to university. Most anxiety and depression research fails to consider how symptom development differs over time across different individuals, and how symptom co-occurrence influences the severity of mental health problems. Students (N = 658) completed online surveys on mental health prior to starting university and every 2 months until April. To better understand mental health problems during this transitional period, latent class growth curve analyses were run to determine how anxiety and depressive symptoms co-develop over time, as well, if self-critical perfectionism was a transdiagnostic risk factor for more severe symptom trajectories in this transition. About 40% of students experienced depression and anxiety symptoms prior to entering/during the transition to university. There is substantial variation between students in terms of how they experience depression and anxiety symptoms, and research needs to take this heterogeneity into account to properly identify which students might benefit most from resources. Self-critical perfectionism was a transdiagnostic risk factor, such that students higher in this trait experienced more severe anxiety and depressive symptom trajectories during this transition. This research further implicates the importance of understanding and studying individual differences in symptom development.

Adverse childhood experiences are significant risk factors in the development of adolescent borderline personality disorder symptoms (BPDs). Theorists have posited that two personality vulnerabilities factors, self-criticism and dependency, may inform our understanding of this relationship. However, no research has examined the associations between early negative experiences, personality vulnerabilities, and adolescent BPDs. The current study aimed to identify profiles of dependency and self-criticism to examine the associations of these profiles with cumulative forms of childhood maltreatment (CM) and BPDs as well as to explore the mediating and moderating role of vulnerable personality profiles in the relationship between cumulative CM and BPDs. Two hundred and forty-one nonclinical and clinical adolescents participated in the study (Mage = 16.37, SD = 1.84). The findings indicated three different profiles: average dependent profile, dependent and self-critical profile, and self-critical profile. Individuals in the average dependent profile presented lower levels of CM and BPDs. Mediation analyses showed that relative to the average dependent profile, a higher cumulative CM history predicted a higher probability of belonging in the dependent and self-critical profile or the self-critical profile and, in turn, this was associated with higher levels of BPDs. No moderating effects of profiles of dependency and self-criticism were found.

To explore the associations between early adverse stress, attachment insecurity in adulthood (anxious and avoidant), pathological personality styles (self-criticism and dependency), difficulties in emotion regulation, and depression severity. Cross-sectional study of 178 outpatients diagnosed with major depression in Santiago, Chile. Participants filled the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire Short Form, the Experience in Close Relationships Scale, the Depressive Experience Questionnaire, the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 item. Full-information maximum likelihood path analyses with bias-corrected bootstrapped confidence intervals were conducted. Anxious attachment in adulthood and self-criticism mediated the association between early adverse stress and depression severity through their effects on difficulties in emotion regulation. Early adverse stress was not associated with avoidant attachment in adulthood and dependency; these variables were indirectly associated with depression severity. Difficulties in emotion regulation were exclusively directly related to depression severity, mediating the effects of the preceding variables. Our findings propose an integrative model for psychological mechanisms mediating between early adverse stress and depression. Difficulties in emotion regulation should be considered when treating adults with depression exposed to early adverse stress. The contribution of specific types of early adverse stressors and difficulties in emotion regulation should be further explored.

Soft power is the ability to affect others to obtain the outcomes one wants through attraction rather than coercion or payment. A country's soft power rests on its resources of culture, values, and policies. A smart power strategy combines hard and soft power resources. Public diplomacy has a long history as a means of promoting a country's soft power and was essential in winning the cold war. The current struggle against transnational terrorism is a struggle to win hearts and minds, and the current overreliance on hard power alone is not the path to success. Public diplomacy is an important tool in the arsenal of smart power, but smart public diplomacy requires an understanding of the roles of credibility, self-criticism, and civil society in generating soft power.

There is considerable evidence that self-criticism plays a major role in the vulnerability to and recovery from psychopathology. Methods to measure this process, and its change over time, are therefore important for research in psychopathology and well-being. This study examined the factor structure of a widely used measure, the Forms of Self-Criticising/Attacking & Self-Reassuring Scale in thirteen nonclinical samples (N = 7510) from twelve different countries: Australia (N = 319), Canada (N = 383), Switzerland (N = 230), Israel (N = 476), Italy (N = 389), Japan (N = 264), the Netherlands (N = 360), Portugal (N = 764), Slovakia (N = 1326), Taiwan (N = 417), the United Kingdom 1 (N = 1570), the United Kingdom 2 (N = 883), and USA (N = 331). This study used more advanced analyses than prior reports: a bifactor item-response theory model, a two-tier item-response theory model, and a non-parametric item-response theory (Mokken) scale analysis. Although the original three-factor solution for the FSCRS (distinguishing between Inadequate-Self, Hated-Self, and Reassured-Self) had an acceptable fit, two-tier models, with two general factors (Self-criticism and Self-reassurance) demonstrated the best fit across all samples. This study provides preliminary evidence suggesting that this two-factor structure can be used in a range of nonclinical contexts across countries and cultures. Inadequate-Self and Hated-Self might not by distinct factors in nonclinical samples. Future work may benefit from distinguishing between self-correction versus shame-based self-criticism.

Virtual reality has been successfully used to study and treat psychological disorders such as phobias and posttraumatic stress disorder but has rarely been applied to clinically-relevant emotions other than fear and anxiety. Self-criticism is a ubiquitous feature of psychopathology and can be treated by increasing levels of self-compassion. We exploited the known effects of identification with a virtual body to arrange for healthy female volunteers high in self-criticism to experience self-compassion from an embodied first-person perspective within immersive virtual reality. Whereas observation and practice of compassionate responses reduced self-criticism, the additional experience of embodiment also increased self-compassion and feelings of being safe. The results suggest potential new uses for immersive virtual reality in a range of clinical conditions.