Self-criticism and self-reassurance as mediators between mental health attitudes and symptoms: Attitudes towards mental health problems in Japanese workers.
Journal article
Authors | Kotera, Y., Gilbert, Paul, Asano, Kenichi, Ishimura, Ikuo and Sheffield, David |
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Abstract | Japanese workers suffer high rates of mental health symptoms, recognised recently by the Japanese government, which has enacted workplace well-being initiatives. One reason for poor mental health concerns negative attitudes about mental health problems such as shame, which may be mediated by self-reassurance and self-criticism. This study aimed to evaluate shame-based attitudes towards mental health problems, and explore the relationship between mental health attitudes, self-criticism, self-reassurance and mental health symptoms. Japanese workers (n=131) completed three measures; attitudes towards mental health problems, mental health symptoms, and self-criticism/reassurance. A high proportion of workers reported negative attitudes about mental health problems. There were strong relationships between mental health attitudes, mental health symptoms, self-criticism, and self-reassurance. Path analyses revealed that the total and indirect effects (through self-criticism and self- reassurance) of mental health attitudes on mental health were larger than the direct effect alone. Hated-self and family-reflected shame were identified as predictors for mental health symptoms. The findings suggest the importance of self-criticism and self-reassurance in mental health and mental health attitudes. Implications for help-seeking behaviours are also discussed. Interventions aimed at reducing self-criticism and enhancing self-reassurance are recommended to improve mental health attitudes and increase help-seeking in Japanese workers. |
Keywords | Japanese workers; Mental health attitudes; Occupational mental health; Self-criticism; Self-reassurance; Shame |
Year | 2018 |
Journal | Asian Journal of Social Psychology |
Publisher | Wiley |
ISSN | 1467-839X |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1111/ajsp.12355 |
Web address (URL) | http://hdl.handle.net/10545/623219 |
hdl:10545/623219 | |
Publication dates | 13 Dec 2018 |
Publication process dates | |
Deposited | 14 Dec 2018, 11:51 |
Accepted | 15 Nov 2018 |
Contributors | University of Derby |
File | File Access Level Open |
File |
https://repository.derby.ac.uk/item/93153/self-criticism-and-self-reassurance-as-mediators-between-mental-health-attitudes-and-symptoms-attitudes-towards-mental-health-problems-in-japanese-workers
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