Is Perceived Criticism an Independent Construct? Evidence for Divergent Validity Across Two Samples

Perceived criticism (PC) is a predictor of poor outcomes across a range of psychological disorders. Yet what is being measured when people are asked to report on how critical a key individual is of them is far from clear. In two community-based studies, we examined the divergent validity of PC in relation to measures of personality, psychopathology, early experiences with parents, and other cognitive and affective variables. In Study 1, an unelected sample of participants completed measures in the laboratory. In Study 2, participants were required to be married or partnered, and measures were completed online. Across both studies, PC was not consistently or reliably related to any measure. This suggests that PC may not simply be a proxy for another variable. Rather, our findings suggest that PC may be an independent construct worthy of research and clinical attention in its own right.