Shame, posttraumatic stress disorder, and intimate partner violence perpetration (original) (raw)
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Evaluating Shame; A Comparative Look at Sexual and Physical Abuse
2018
Shame is a potential adverse effect which can occur following a traumatic experience, such as being a survivor of sexual and physical abuse. Demonstrating the prevalence and levels of shame resulting from sexual and physical abuse can be of interest to those professionals working with survivors of trauma. The purpose of this study was to separately evaluate the prevalence of shame within sexual and physical abuse. This study tested the following hypotheses: hypothesis 1, shame will be more prevalent and demonstrate higher levels in sexual abuse survivors than in physical abuse survivors and hypothesis 2, survivors of both sexual and physical abuse will demonstrate higher prevalence and higher levels of shame than those who only experienced sexual or physical abuse. Participants completed a questionnaire that assessed any history of sexual and physical abuse and a questionnaire that assessed prevalence and levels of shame. Data was analyzed by running a Univariate ANOVA through SPSS....
More or less than human : the influence of shame on psychological distress
2011
Background Shame is a powerful emotion involved in a wide variety of phenomena including psychopathology. The propensity to react with shame to situations of transgression is formed early in life, but the processes by which elevated shame-proneness causes higher levels of psychological distress and functional impairment in some people rather than in others is as yet poorly understood. Objectives The main objective of this thesis was to further elucidate these processes by investigating the implications for shame states, guilt, general coping strategies, attachment styles, and shame-related coping in this context, as well as to evaluate an assessment method for shameproneness. Methods The self-report questionnaires Test of Self-Conscious Affect (TOSCA), Compass of Shame Scale (CoSS-5), Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ), Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ), Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ), Symptom Checklist 90 (SCL-90), and an interview measure for event-related shame and guilt were used for assessment in adult normative, healthy-only, crime victim, and patient samples (n=25-361). A combination of uni-and bivariate approaches and multivariate soft and hard modeling approaches were used for statistical analysis. Results Paper I showed that the TOSCA could be used as a reliable measure for shame-proneness. Paper II showed that guilt was unrelated to post-victimization distress. Elevated shame-proneness was related to higher levels of post-victimization distress. This effect was partially mediated by event-related shame. Paper III showed that in CFS patients, higher levels of shame-proneness, escape-avoidance, and accepting responsibility coping contributed to elevated levels of psychological distress. Seeking support, positive reappraisal coping, and proneness to detachment contributed in the opposite direction. These relationships were weaker in the comparison groups. Paper IV showed that shameproneness was associated with secure attachment style in a negative direction. Higher levels of secure attachment style contributed to lower levels of psychological distress, whereas shame-proneness, insecure attachment styles and withdrawal, attack self, and attack other shame coping strategies contributed in the opposite direction. There were mean differences between women and men regarding most of the variables, but the relationships between variables did not differ between men and women. Conclusions The association between shame-proneness and psychological distress seem to involve a complex balancing act between motives toward preserving close relationships and protecting a relatively positive sense of self. If others are perceived as trustworthy and compassionate and are utilized for support in times of need, the effects of shameproneness may be less debilitating, whereas if others are perceived as distancing or disapproving, and life stress and social transgressions are managed by escape strategies, social withdrawal, self-blame or by transferring blame onto others, the distress effects become more severe. The inner psychodynamics of these functional patterns seem to be rather similar in women and men.
Mapping Shame and Its Functions in Relationships
Child Maltreatment, 2005
Articles in this issue examine how experiences of shame, together with its effects on anger, are involved in maltreatment's sequelae. Authors identify mechanisms through which these emotions result from, and adversely affect, victims' concurrent and later adjustment. Using analysis of similar paradoxes in research concerning self-esteem, this commentary pinpoints dilemmas and consequences implied in this special issue regarding shame. These include whether shame should be accentuated as the central emotional mediator or moderator in maltreatment sequelae, inferring particular attributions, regulatory goals, or consequences based on extant measures of shame and construing these as outcomes or causes in maltreatment sequelae. Questions are raised concerning the diverse functions of shame, alone and in combination with anger or guilt, the steps needed to reveal these various functions, and their implications for therapeutic interventions with survivors of abuse. Adopting this approach acknowledges that expressions of shame may sometimes help victims negotiate relational hazards and treats shame as a signal or coeffect in maltreatment sequelae.
Trauma and negative underlying assumptions in feelings of shame: An exploratory study
Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 2012
Shame is a common, although understudied, reaction to trauma. It is associated with numerous negative outcomes after trauma including emotional distress and health problems. Using a mixed experimental and correlational design, this study explored the association between trauma exposure, negative underlying assumptions (NUAs; attitudes such as "If I make a mistake, it means I am a bad person"), and feelings of shame. Our objectives were (1) to examine the association between trauma history and NUAs, (2) to examine the effects of trauma history and NUAs on shame in response to negative or positive feedback, and (3) to provide incremental evidence of validation for the Shame Posture Measure. After participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing NUAs, trauma history, and shame, they completed a short problem set and were randomly assigned to receive positive or negative feedback on their work. Changes in state shame were examined after feedback. We found that: (1) participants who scored high on NUAs were much more likely to have experienced a traumatic event than were people with low NUA scores;
Comparing Shame in Clinical and Nonclinical Populations: Preliminary Findings
Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 2016
To conduct a preliminary study comparing different trauma and clinical populations on types of shame coping style and levels of state shame and guilt. Methods: A mixed independent groups/correlational design was employed. Participants were recruited by convenience sampling of three clinical populations, namely Complex Trauma (n = 65), DID (n = 20), General Mental Health (n = 41), and a control group of Healthy Volunteers (n = 125). All participants were given 1) the Compass of Shame Scale, which measures the four common shame coping behaviours/styles of "withdrawal", "attack self", "attack other" and "avoidance"; and 2) the State Shame and Guilt Scale, which assesses state shame, guilt and pride. Results: The DID group exhibited significantly higher levels "attack self", "withdrawal", and "avoidance" relative to the other groups. The Complex Trauma and General Mental Health groups did not differ on any shame variable. All three clinical groups had significantly greater levels of the "withdrawal" coping style and significantly impaired shame/guilt/pride relative to the healthy volunteers. "Attack self" emerged as a significant predictor of increased state shame in the Complex Trauma, General Mental Health, and Healthy Volunteer groups, whereas "withdrawal" was the sole predictor of state shame in the DID group. Conclusions: DID emerged as having a different profile of shame processes compared to the other clinical groups, whereas the Complex Trauma and General Mental Health groups had comparable shame levels and variable relationships. These differential profiles of shame coping and state shame are discussed with reference to assessment and treatment.
Shame and aggression: Different trajectories and implications
Aggression and Violent Behavior, 2014
We review the largely separate literatures on aggression and shame, concluding that both internalized shame and maladaptive shame-regulation are key factors in a number of psychopathologies and that the latter may in turn lead to violent outcomes. Our review is consistent with, and provides further evidence for, the evolutionary and psychobiological links from shame to anger and aggression described in Elison, Garofalo, and Velotti (2014). Within the aggression literature, our analysis of studies on partner violence, incarcerated violent offenders, and personality disorders (Narcissistic, Borderline, Antisocial) focus on the role of shame as a common antecedent to violence. The review includes an introduction to different facets of shame, and goes on to discuss the trajectories that link shame and aggression, with particular regard to self-esteem and rejection sensitivity. We outline the diverse ways through which aggression could be better explained by acknowledging the triggering emotions and the contextual situations that characterize the aggressive actespecially focusing on partner violence. Finally, we argue that shame and shame-regulation should serve as useful points of intervention for reducing violent behavior and its underlying pathology, highlighting implications for both clinical and research purposes.
Faces of Shame: Implications for Self-Esteem, Emotion Regulation, Aggression, and Well-Being
Routledge eBooks, 2021
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Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may produce internal "threats to the self," which generate shame. Shame is theoretically and empirically linked to intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. We examined relations among PTSD, cognitive processing of shame-relevant information, and IPV perpetration. Forty-seven community participants completed an emotional Stroop task with shame-relevant and neutral words. Stimuli were presented supraliminally (i.e., until vocal response) and subliminally (i.e., below an individualized threshold of conscious awareness). Facilitated color-naming of shame-relevant words (thought to reflect congruence between shame and self-schemas) mediated the relation between PTSD severity and IPV perpetration frequency. Mediation results for subliminal stimuli suggest that biased processing of shame cues may occur preconsciously and potentially catalyze processes (i.e., expectations of rejection in ambiguous situations with one's partner; avoidance that minimizes discomfort and protects self-image) that lead to IPV perpetration. Psychotherapeutic approaches to PTSD and IPV should consider the role of facilitated processing of shame cues.
Shame Veiled and Unveiled: The Shame Affect and Its Re-Emergence in the Clinical Setting
The American Journal of Psychoanalysis, 2010
The paper examines the psychoanalytic theory of shame and the importance of developmental aspects of the shame affect. In a clinical setting, the discovery of the shame affect, stemming from unconscious and early traumatic situations, is an important and useful approach in helping the patient access painful memories and defenses against them. The defenses disguise the underlying shame affect; furthermore, vision is being bound up with the searing painful affect of shame. The anticipatory dread of scornful gaze of another person, similar to objective self-awareness can cause mortifi cation. Fear of mortifi cation and being exposed emerges in the clinical setting. Through the recognition of enactments in the transference and countertransference interchange, the analyst helps the patient working through them. Several case vignettes demonstrate these important concepts. Finally, the author discusses how shame in certain situations can be a powerful, positive motivator for human interactions.