From Self-Negation to Self-Acceptance: Psychological Origins and Gender Differences in Adolescents' Inner Critic

Le Wang

Authors

Le Wang Changxing High School, Huzhou, Zhejiang, China Author

Keywords:

inner critic, adolescent psychology, gender differences, self-concept, existential philosophy

Abstract

Adolescents' inner critic, a pervasive psychological phenomenon characterized by self-negating thoughts, significantly impacts mental health and identity formation. While existing research predominantly focuses on clinical interventions, this study bridges the gap by integrating psychological, gender, and philosophical perspectives to explore its origins, gendered manifestations, and potential pathways toward self-acceptance. The research aims to uncover the psychosocial mechanisms behind the inner critic's development, analyze how gender socialization shapes its expression, and reconceptualize self-criticism through existential and feminist philosophies. Methodologically, the study synthesizes empirical findings from developmental psychology and neuroscience with sociocultural gender analysis and philosophical critique. Key findings reveal distinct gendered patterns: female adolescents internalize criticism around appearance and relational competence, while males externalize failure narratives tied to achievement. These differences stem from entrenched gender roles, media reinforcement, and peer dynamics. Philosophically, the Cartesian model of a static self is challenged in favor of embodied and performative notions of identity, suggesting that self-acceptance arises from reinterpreting criticism as a dialogic rather than punitive process. The study contributes to interdisciplinary discourse by proposing gender-sensitive therapeutic interventions and advocating for structural changes in education and media. Its significance lies in reframing adolescent self-criticism not merely as a pathology but as a socially mediated struggle for authenticity, offering transformative strategies at individual and societal levels.

References

1. N. Stinckens, G. Lietaer, and M. Leijssen, “Working with the inner critic: Process features and pathways to change,” Pers.-Cent. Exp. Psychother., vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 59–78, 2013, doi: 10.1080/14779757.2013.767747.

2. M. F. Maneka and O. F. Saeed, “Automatic Negative Thoughts ANT and the role of Satan,” Qual. Res., 2024.

3. J. Drobnick, “Body events and implicated gazes,” Perform. Res., vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 64–74, 2008, doi: 10.1080/13528160902875648.

4. S. L. Macrine and J. M. Fugate, “Embodied cognition and its educational significance,” in Movement Matters: How Embodied Cognition Informs Teaching and Learning, 2022, pp. 13–24. ISBN: 9780262368995.

5. A. Febiyanti and Y. Rachmawati, “Is authoritative parenting the best parenting style?,” in Proc. 5th Int. Conf. Early Child. Educ. (ICECE 2020), Atlantis Press, Mar. 2021, pp. 94–99, doi: 10.2991/assehr.k.210322.021.

6. K. Kobayashi, M. Fukushima, H. Kitaoka, Y. Shimizu, and S. Shimanouchi, “The influence of public health nurses in facilitating a healthy family life for families with abused and neglected children by providing care,” Int. Med. J., vol. 22, no. 1, 2015.

7. P. Verduyn, N. Gugushvili, K. Massar, K. Täht, and E. Kross, “Social comparison on social networking sites,” Curr. Opin. Psy-chol., vol. 36, pp. 32–37, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2020.04.002.

8. W. Wang et al., “Upward social comparison on mobile social media and depression: The mediating role of envy and the moderating role of marital quality,” J. Affect. Disord., vol. 270, pp. 143–149, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.03.173.

9. R. G. White, P. Larkin, J. McCluskey, J. Lloyd, and H. J. McLeod, “The development of the ‘Forms of Responding to Self-Critical Thoughts Scale’ (FoReST),” J. Contextual Behav. Sci., vol. 15, pp. 20–29, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.jcbs.2019.11.003.

10. M. Miles, “The three faces of the Cogito: Descartes (and Aristotle) on knowledge of first principles,” Rocz. Filoz., vol. 68, no. 2, pp. 63–86, 2020, doi: 10.18290/rf20682-4.

11. M. Sinclair, “Embodiment: Conceptions of the lived body from Maine de Biran to Bergson,” in The Edinburgh Critical History of Philosophy, Vol. 4: The Nineteenth Century, Edinburgh, U.K.: Edinburgh Univ. Press, 2011, pp. 187–203. ISBN: 9780748647019.

12. T. Staehler, “Unambiguous calling? Authenticity and ethics in Heidegger’s Being and Time,” J. Br. Soc. Phenom., vol. 39, no. 3, pp. 293–313, 2008, doi: 10.1080/00071773.2008.11006653.

13. Z. Bai, S. Luo, L. Zhang, S. Wu, and I. Chi, “Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) to reduce depression: A systematic review and meta-analysis,” J. Affect. Disord., vol. 260, pp. 728–737, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2019.09.040.

14. F. J. Laughland, Paul Ricoeur's Hermeneutics of the Self: Living in the Truth, Ph.D. dissertation, Duquesne Univ., 2017.

15. R. Y. A. Hambali, “Being in the digital world: A Heideggerian perspective,” Jaqfi: J. Aqidah Filsafat Islam, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 274–287, 2023, doi: 10.15575/jaqfi.v8i2.30889.