Emotions and Suicidal Ideation among Depressed Women with Childhood Sexual Abuse Histories

You, Sungeun; Talbot, Nancy L.; He, Hua; Conner, Kenneth R.

doi:10.1111/j.1943-278x.2012.00086.x

Cited by 26 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Although we did not find evidence to support our second hypothesis – that women with childhood sexual abuse would have greater distress and suicidality – we found that a nuanced relationship exists between self‐conscious emotions and suicidal thoughts. Whereas other research has found both guilt and shame to be associated with suicidal ideation among women with sexual trauma histories (You et al., ), we found that a history of childhood sexual abuse moderates the relationship between self‐conscious emotions and suicidal ideation. Specifically, after controlling for the effects of depressive symptoms, guilt was associated with the frequency of suicidal thoughts amongst women without childhood sexual trauma, while shame was associated with frequency of suicidal thoughts amongst women who reported a history of childhood sexual abuse.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…The findings from the present study contribute further to the evidence base linking self‐conscious emotions with suicidality (Bryan et al., ; Weingarden et al., ; You et al., ). Our findings, however, also highlight the importance of developing a better understanding of the nuanced relationship between shame, guilt and suicidal ideation.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

“…Women who have suffered childhood sexual abuse may be particularly prone to intense shame affects (Kim, Talbot & Cicchetti, 2009;Pettersen, 2013;Rahm, Renck & Ringsberg, 2006), which in turn may contribute to suicidal urges as an ultimate manifestation of self-censure (Herman, 1992). Indeed, among a sample of adult women with histories of sexual abuse, self-conscious emotions were significantly associated with suicidal ideation (You, Talbot, He & Conner, 2012). Moreover, high levels of shame in the wake of childhood sexual abuse have been found to be particularly persistent over the long term, potentially interfering with recovery (Feiring & Taska, 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Self‐conscious emotions and suicidal ideation among women with and without history of childhood sexual abuse

Kealy

Spidel

Ogrodniczuk

2017

Couns and Psychother Res

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Background Suicidal ideation and the self‐conscious emotions of guilt and shame are frequently encountered in psychotherapy. However, research regarding the relationship between self‐conscious emotions and suicidal thoughts has been limited, particularly in the context of women's experiences of childhood sexual abuse. Aims The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between suicidal ideation and experiences of guilt and shame among women seeking psychotherapy, and to examine the role of childhood sexual trauma in this relationship. Materials and Methods Participants were 68 women attending an outpatient psychotherapy clinic who completed questionnaire measures of depression, guilt and shame, suicidal ideation, and childhood trauma. Results Zero‐order and partial correlations found direct positive associations between frequency of suicidal thoughts and both guilt and shame. Hierarchical regression analysis found significant interactions between sexual abuse and self‐conscious emotions. Among women without a history of sexual abuse, frequency of suicidal ideation was associated with guilt. Among women who had suffered childhood sexual trauma, frequency of suicidal ideation was associated with shame. Discussion These preliminary findings suggest that shame may be an important target in therapy for women with sexual abuse trauma, and indicate directions for future research. Conclusion Clinicians addressing suicidal ideation need to consider the nuanced relationship between self‐conscious emotions and clients’ experience of trauma.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Self‐conscious emotions and suicidal ideation among women with and without history of childhood sexual abuse

Kealy

Spidel

Ogrodniczuk

2017

Couns and Psychother Res

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“…The quantitative studies demonstrate the centrality of shame, finding the presence of shame mediated a range of psychological outcomes, including the effectiveness of group psychotherapy on reducing PTSD symptoms (Ginzburg et al, ), sexual revictimisation in adulthood (Kessler & Bieschke, ) and body surveillance and alexithymia (Watson, Matheny, Gagné, Brack, & Ancis, ). Additionally, associations, were found between: shame and suicidal ideation (Kealy, Spidel, & Ogrodniczuk, ; Milligan & Andrews, ; You, Talbot, He, & Conner, ), self‐harming behaviours (Milligan & Andrews, ), dissociation (Talbot, Talbot, & Tu, ), body related trauma (Dyer, Feldman, & Borgmann, ), poor mental health (Rahm, Renck, & Ringsberg, ) and anxiety and depressive symptoms (Willie et al, ). CSA‐related shame also significantly correlated with HIV‐related shame (Willie et al, ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A scoping review of adult survivors’ experiences of shame following sexual abuse in childhood

MacGinley

Breckenridge

Mowll

2019

Health Soc Care Community

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Shame following childhood sexual abuse (CSA) can be intensely painful and destructive to one's sense of self and place in the world. Organised around an internalised core belief of worthlessness, extreme shame presents as a major therapeutic challenge in therapy with many CSA survivors. A range of clinical and empirical literature, alongside recounts of survivors lived experience, shows that shame is an effect of CSA for many survivors. Yet research has rarely focused specifically on survivors’ qualitative or lived experiences of shame. This article reports the results of a scoping review of the empirical research investigating adult survivors’ experiences of shame following sexual abuse in their childhood. Conducted in March 2018, the search strategy involved on‐line searches of English language, peer review and select grey literature repositories for articles published up to the end of 2017. Of the 28 peer reviewed studies included in the review, only three studies specifically investigate adult survivors lived experiences of shame. The synthesised findings from the studies identify five themes demonstrating the pervasive and detrimental influence of shame following CSA: (1) Psychological effects and trauma symptoms; (2) Relationships and social connections and disconnections; (3) Disclosure; (4) Self concept; and, (5) The process of recovery. These findings resonate with conceptual literature and broader research on the influence of shame following violence and highlight areas for future research and clinical practice. This scoping review identifies three key gaps: a need for further research across specific populations and groups; research evaluating therapeutic interventions responding to shame; and research that specifically investigates adult survivors’ lived experiences of shame following CSA.

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“…However, a recently emerging body of literature includes psychiatric studies linking shame and suicide (Wiklander et al 2012;Bryan et al 2013;Anderson, Sisask, and Varnik 2011;You et al 2012), a qualitative investigation of patients who had attempted suicide that included evidence of feelings of shame (Vatne and Nåden 2012) and studies that demonstrate that the experience of shame is implicated in queer youth suicide (Cover 2012;McDermott, Roen, and Scourfield 2008). This body of literature constitutes a framework that renders shame visible in relation to suicide.…”

Section: The Cultural Politics Of Shame and Suicidementioning

confidence: 97%

The fallen hero: masculinity, shame and farmer suicide in Australia

Bryant

Garnham

2014

Gender, Place & Culture

118

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The drought-stricken Australian rural landscape, cultures of farming masculinity and an economy of value, moral worth and pride form a complex matrix of discourses that shape subjective dynamics that render suicide a possibility for distressed farmers. However, the centrality of a 'mental health' perspective and reified notions of 'stoicism' within this discursive field operate to exclude consideration of the ways in which cultural identity is linked to emotions. To illuminate and explore complex connections between subjectivity, moral worth and affect in relation to understanding farmer suicide, this article draws on theory and literature on agrarian discourses of masculine subjectivity and shame to analyze empirical data from interviews with farmers during times of environmental, social and economic crisis. The idealized notion of the farming man as 'Aussie battler' emerges from romantic agrarian mythology in which pride and self-worth are vested in traditional values of hard work, struggle and self-sacrifice. However, the structural context of agriculture, as it is shaped by the political economy of neoliberalism, threatens farm economic viability and is eroding the pride, self-worth and masculine identity of farmers. The article suggests that the notion of the 'fallen hero' captures a discursive shift of a masculinity 'undone', a regress from the powerful position of masculine subjectivity imbued with pride to one of shame that is of central importance to understanding how suicide emerges as a possibility for farmers.

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Emotions and Suicidal Ideation among Depressed Women with Childhood Sexual Abuse Histories

Cited by 26 publications

References 55 publications

Self‐conscious emotions and suicidal ideation among women with and without history of childhood sexual abuse

Self‐conscious emotions and suicidal ideation among women with and without history of childhood sexual abuse

A scoping review of adult survivors’ experiences of shame following sexual abuse in childhood

The fallen hero: masculinity, shame and farmer suicide in Australia

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