An empirical test of rational-emotive behavior therapy's unconditional self-acceptance theory

Rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT) proposes that a key ingredient mental health is unconditional self-acceptance (USA), an outlook that entails the rejection of the pursuit of self-esteem. A novel measure of USA was employed in two studies which tested predictions regarding relationships between USA and other constructs relevant to mental health. In Study 1, 107 participants were recruited from a newspaper advertisement and completed several self-report questionnaire measures as well as a think-aloud measure of USA-related thought. In Study 2, 86 university undergraduates completed self-report measures and took part in a procedure that involved giving speeches, rating their own and each others' performances, receiving false negative feedback, and completing post-speech-and-feedback measures. Consistent with REBT predictions, with self-esteem scores partialled out, people who were more unconditionally self-accepting were found to be lower in anxiety, narcissism, the tendency to denigrate their critics, depression proneness, labile self-esteem, and higher in objectivity regarding their own performances. Contrary to REBT predictions, those higher in USA were not found to be significantly lower in current depressive symptoms, self-deception, impression management, or mood reactivity in response to negative evaluations of their behavior, nor were they found to be significantly higher in general happiness, the tendency to accept their failings and weaknesses in a variety of domains, USA-consistent thought content as produced during simulated negative-feedback situations, or the desire to try again after receiving negative feedback on an otherwise enjoyable task. Results were mixed regarding mood change in response to negative feedback. Implications for USA theory and directions for future research are discussed.