Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 25, 2025

Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
Published on: September 19, 2019
Parental criticism affects adolescents' mood and ruminative state: Self-perception appears to influence their mood
Sam L B Bonduelle1, Rudi De Raedt2, Caroline Braet3
1Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, UZ Brussel/Vrije Universiteit Brussel-VUB (Free University of Brussels), 1090 Brussels, Belgium; Ghent Experimental Psychiatry (GHEP) Lab, Department of Head and Skin, UZ Gent/Universiteit Gent, 9000 Ghent, Belgium.
Abstract:
Feeling and/or being criticized is a known risk factor for various psychiatric disorders in adolescents. However, the link between the experience of social stressors and the development of psychopathological symptoms is not yet fully understood. Identifying which adolescent subgroups are more vulnerable to parental criticism could be of great clinical relevance. In this study, 90 nondepressed 14- to 17-year-old adolescents were exposed to a sequence of auditory segments with a positive, neutral, and finally negative valence, mirroring parental criticism. Their mood and ruminative states were assessed before and after exposure to criticism. We observed an overall increase in mood disturbance and ruminative thoughts. Self-perception appeared to influence these mood changes, whereas no significant influence by perceived criticism, self-worth, or the general tendency to ruminate was found. Emotional awareness seemed to account for some of the variance in positive mood state changes. These findings point to the importance of adolescent self-perception (and emotional awareness) in dealing with parental criticism.
Related Concept Videos
Self-Evaluation: Self-Enhancement and Self-Verification
Influence of Parents and Peers on Identity
Parental Influence on Identity Development
Parents serve as primary guides and managers in an adolescent's life, offering support instrumental in decision-making and personal growth....
Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping
Cognitive Development During Adolescence
Self-Discrepancy Theory
The Sense of Self: Reflected Self-Appraisal and Social Comparison

