The effects of psychopathology and shame on social representations of health and lifestyle behaviours via free association: a graph analysis approach

Background There is a knowledge gap in whether psychopathology aspects can shape and mark the social representations about health and lifestyle. In this work, we investigated the association of psychopathology and shame with the centrality of the words describing eight common social representations of health and lifestyle. Methods A convenience sample of 288 adults participated with an average age of 44.7, and 62.6% were women. The participants were asked to express three consecutive words associated with eight different health and lifestyle experiences by utilizing the free association method. The participants also were completed the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R), the Experiences of Shame Scale (ESS), and the Other as Shamer Scale (OAS). Canonical correlation analysis was applied to investigate the relationship between the set of the eight-word centralities and the psycho-demographic variables consisting of the subject's age and gender, the SCL 90 subscales, the OAS, and the ESS. Based on these findings, a structural equation explorative model was formed to test the unidimensionality of the five centralities construct. Results Τhe psychological characteristics of interpersonal sensitivity, depression, external shame, and hostility were found to affect the word selection process on the social representations concerning nightlife, health, diet, lifestyle, and alcohol consumption. Participants with increased levels of depression tend to choose more centrally positioned words when the stimulus word was diet and more decentralized responses when the stimulus word was health. At the same time, higher external shame corresponded to more decentralized words for the categories of health and lifestyle. Conclusions Our results indicate that there is a potential interaction between the psychological state and how a social representation of health and lifestyle is constructed through selected words. Graph theory emerged as an additional tool to use to study these relations.

Mediating Role of External Shame and Self-compassion in the Relationship Between Peer Victimization and Depression in Adolescents

Objectives: The present study aims to examine the mediating role of external shame and self-compassion in the relationship between peer victimization and depression in adolescents. Methods: This is a descriptive-correlational study. Participants were 300 middle-school students of Shahin Shahr city in Isfahan, Iran (150 girls and 150 boys), who were selected using a multi-stage cluster sampling method. The data collection tools were Multidimensional Peer-Victimization Scale, the Other As Shamer Scale, Self-Compassionate Scale-Short Form, and Mood & Feeling Questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS v. 19 and AMOS v. 20 applications. Results: There were significant relationship among peer victimization, external shame, self-compassion, and depression (P<0.01). The measurement model had a good fitness (Root mean square error of approximation=0.037, normed fit index=0.997, comparative fit index=0.999). Path Analysis results reported that peer victimization had indirect effect on depression through mediation by external shame and self-compassion. Conclusion: External shame and self-compassion can mediate the relationship between peer victimization and depression in adolescents. Considering them in designing effective preventive and therapeutic interventions can be helpful for adolescents to cope with peer victimization and depression.

Depression in Institutionalized Adolescents: The Role of Memories of Warmth and Safeness, Shame and Self-criticism

Institutionalization is a current problem, related to several indicators of psychological maladjustment. In the same way, there are several studies that point to the role of shame and self-criticism in the development of psychopathology. Therefore, our study explored, in institutionalized adolescents, whether early memories of warmth and safeness (EMWS) were associated to depression through external shame and self-criticism. The sample included 171 institutionalized adolescents (60.2% girls; Mage = 15.56; SD = 1.49). Depression, EMWS, external shame and self-criticism were assessed. The EMWS didn’t show a direct effect on depression, exerting its effect indirectly through external shame and self-criticism. The relationship between EMWS and self-criticism was fully mediated by external shame, and the relationship between external shame and depression was fully mediated by self-criticism. In conclusion, the way the individual sees and relates to the self seems to impact on psychological adjustment and in the development of psychopathology. The fact that external shame and self-criticism fully mediated the relationship between EMWS and depression emphasizes the relevance of preventive and therapeutic approaches that aim to promote a healthier way of relating to the self.

Development of the Japanese Version of the Other as Shamer Scale using Item Response Theory

Objective; ResultsExternal shame is reflective of a person’s anxiety that he or she might be rejected by others. The Other As Shamer Scale (OAS) is a scale for assessing external shame. The Japanese version of OAS was developed, and its reliability and validity were examined using Item Response Theory (IRT). Results; A questionnaire survey was conducted with university students (N=199). Exploratory factor analysis of the results indicated a significantly high factor loading on the first factor, which was identical to the original version of the scale, as well as high internal consistency. Moreover, results confirmed that each item had adequate discrimination and information levels, suggesting that external shame could be discriminated with high accuracy with a wide range between relatively low and relatively high external shame groups. These results suggested that this scale could be used for screening external shame as a stress factor and for assessing intervention effects.

Development of the Other As Shamer scale Japanese version using Item Response Theory

Objective; External shame is reflective of a person’s anxiety that he or she might be rejected by others. The Other As Shamer Scale (OAS) is a scale for assessing external shame. The Japanese version of OAS was developed, and its reliability and validity were examined using Item Response Theory (IRT). Results; A questionnaire survey was conducted with university students (N=199). Exploratory factor analysis of the results indicated a significantly high factor loading on the first factor, which was identical to the original version of the scale, as well as high internal consistency. Moreover, results confirmed that each item had adequate discrimination and information levels, suggesting that external shame could be discriminated with high accuracy with a wide range between relatively low and relatively high external shame groups. These results suggested that this scale could be used for screening external shame as a stress factor and for assessing intervention effects.

The Role of Perspective Taking and Alexithymia in Associations Between Shame, Guilt, and Social Anxiety

The present study expanded previous research concerning relationships between shame, guilt, and social anxiety by examining both internal and external shame and exploring the role of two cognitive constructs relating to emotion regulation, perspective taking, and alexithymia. Findings were consistent with the literature regarding positive associations between shame and social anxiety and no relationship between guilt and social anxiety. Perspective taking was positively related to guilt, while alexithymia was positively related to both shame types. Social anxiety was predicted by shame-proneness, external shame, and alexithymia. There were also small indirect effects for both types of shame on social anxiety through alexithymia. Further replication of relationships between shame, alexithymia, and social anxiety is needed. Alexithymia, with and without concurrent shame, has implications for therapeutic interventions for social anxiety as it may represent a barrier to implementing conventional therapies.