Publication Date
2025
Document Type
Dissertation/Thesis
First Advisor
Orcutt, Holly
Degree Name
Ph.D. (Doctor of Philosophy)
Legacy Department
Department of Psychology
Abstract
Background: Childhood emotional abuse, while frequently co-occurring with other types of abuse, is often neglected within the trauma literature, but has been found to be an important independent predictor of adult psychopathology. Shame represents a potentially important and malleable factor that may contribute to the development and maintenance of poor psychological outcomes. As such, interventions focused on increasing self-compassion have been identified as promising methods to decrease experiences of shame, and ultimately symptoms of psychopathology. While literature on brief self-compassion interventions has rapidly increased in recent years, notable gaps remain. Specifically, there is limited research exploring the impact of brief (e.g., 1 week or less) interventions, and these have not yet been tested in samples reporting childhood emotional abuse specifically. Method: The current study aimed to explore the impact of a brief self-compassion intervention on shame and psychopathology in a sample of 81 college women who reported a history of childhood emotional abuse. Results: Childhood emotional abuse significantly predicted depression, PTSD, shame, and self-compassion at baseline, even after controlling for other abuse forms. While a brief self-compassion intervention was found to improve all outcomes post-treatment, path analyses did not support hypotheses related to the intervention’s superiority compared to an active control condition. Discussion: Although the intervention did not outperform an active control, it is noteworthy that engaging with a 5-minute self-compassion exercise regularly over the course of 1 week produced significant improvements. Brief self-compassion interventions may reduce negative outcomes following childhood emotional abuse, therefore warranting further study.
Recommended Citation
Hill, Sarah, "Investigating the Impact of a Brief Self-Compassion Intervention on Shame and Psychopathology for Women with Histories of Childhood Emotional Abuse" (2025). Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations. 8116.
https://huskiecommons.lib.niu.edu/allgraduate-thesesdissertations/8116
Extent
140 pages
Language
en
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
