Autonomous Motivation Moderates the Relation of Self-Criticism to Depressive Symptoms Over One Year: A Longitudinal Study of Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Patients in a Naturalistic Setting

Abstract

Introduction: This study examined whether motivation moderated the relation between self-criticism and depression over one year in a sample of adults receiving cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT). Methods: Participants (N = 38) completed measures of pre-treatment self-criticism (Time 1), autonomous/controlled motivation for engaging in CBT at the beginning of treatment (Time 2), and interviewer-rated depression at Time 1, and one year after baseline (Time 3). Results: Multiple regression analyses of moderator effects showed that patients higher in self-criticism with lower autonomous motivation for CBT had higher levels of depressive symptoms one year later. The effect of controlled motivation was nonsignificant. Discussion: Our findings support the buffering hypothesis that engaging in CBT because it is personally meaningful may protect patients high in self-criticism from experiencing the poorer treatment outcomes associated with their specific vulnerability. However, given the small sample size, the results will need to be replicated within larger samples to ensure generalizability.