The Development and Validation of the Adolescent Self-Criticism Scale (ASCS)

Abstract Background In adolescence, self-criticism represents a central phenomenon in a variety of mental disorders, and can portend emotional, social, and behavioural problems. Objective We outline the development and testing of the first bespoke measure of self-criticism for adolescents aged 11–16 years, the Adolescent Self-Criticism Scale (ASCS), informed by adolescents and experts in child mental health/scale development, via two studies. Methods In study one, an item pool was generated via: (i) a literature review of existing self-criticism measures to produce an initial pool of 141 items; (ii) eight subject matter experts’ assessment of the content validity of the 141-items; and (iii) three focus groups with 18 adolescents in total, to produce a final pool of 70 items. In study 2, this pool of 70 items was administered to a sample of 305 secondary school pupils at time point one. Factor Analysis revealed two latent factors based on a reduced set of 24 items characterised as: Criticising Self and Sensitivity to Failure. Both subscales demonstrated high internal consistency (Factor 1 α.94; Factor 2 α.91). At time point two, the 24-item ASCS was administered to 206 adolescents, alongside standardised scales of wellbeing. Results The ASCS showed high correlations with depression, self-compassion, self-criticism, and perfectionism, with significant correlations between subscales and validation measures. Test-retest reliability at four weeks was excellent (0.87). Conclusion Overall, as a short psychometrically robust scale, the ASCS offers an excellent ecologically valid tool for professionals interested in measuring the emotional wellbeing of young people and/or the effectiveness of youth wellbeing interventions.