Publication Date
2022
Document Type
Dissertation/Thesis
First Advisor
Orcutt, Holly K.
Degree Name
M.A. (Master of Arts)
Legacy Department
Department of Psychology
Abstract
Exposure to negative events in childhood has been well-established as a risk factor for negative health outcomes in adulthood. Childhood emotional abuse, while frequently co-occurring with other types of abuse, is often neglected in the trauma literature, but has been found to be an important independent predictor of adult psychopathology. Shame and guilt are negative emotions often experienced by those suffering with depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and may have implications for the development and maintenance of these psychological disorders. Further, generalized guilt and shame were found to be significantly higher in individuals with PTSD and depression and associated with severity of psychopathology. The current study aimed to further investigate the impact of childhood emotional abuse specifically on adult psychopathology, as well as to explore the potential impact of childhood emotional abuse on adult experiences of guilt and shame using a cognitive experimental task. Results indicated that childhood emotional abuse is a significant independent predictor of both depression and PTSD, even when controlling for other forms of childhood abuse. Implicit guilt-prone and shame-prone self-concept was not a significant predictor of psychopathology. Similarly, neither shame-prone nor guilt-prone self-concept were predicted by childhood emotional abuse. This study highlights the unique impact of childhood emotional abuse on symptoms of psychopathology. However, further research is needed to determine the extent to which guilt-proneness or shame-proneness may play a role in the development and maintenance of symptoms.
Recommended Citation
Hill, Sarah B., "investigating Implicit Cognitive Bias toward Guilt and Shame Among individuals with Histories of Childhood Emotional Abuse" (2022). Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations. 7114.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allgraduate-thesesdissertations/7114
Extent
81 pages
Language
eng
Publisher
Northern Illinois University
Rights Statement
In Copyright
Rights Statement 2
NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.
Media Type
Text
