SELF-CRITICISM AT AGE 12 - A LONGITUDINAL-STUDY OF ADJUSTMENT

This study employed a prospective longitudinal design to investigate the relation between self-criticism at age 12 and later adjustment. Archival data were available for subjects in the Sears, Maccoby, and Levin (1957) study. Self-criticism at age 12 predicted involvement in fewer high school activities and, at age 31, fewer years of education completed, lower occupational status in men, dissatisfaction with primary relationship (p = .10), dissatisfaction with being a parent, and personal/social maladjustment. However, self-critics were not less likely to marry nor did they marry later or have fewer children. The results were largely consistent with Blatt's lifespan development perspective on self-criticism. Possible processes linking self-criticism in early adolescence to later life outcomes are discussed.