The Origins of Fears of Compassion : Shame and Lack of Safeness Memories, Fears of Compassion and Psychopathology
(2017) In Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied 151(8). p.804-819- Abstract
Empirical and clinical research suggests that some individuals find self-generating compassion and receiving compassion from others difficult and aversive. However, it is unclear how these fears of compassion are linked to early experiences and to psychopathological symptoms. This study explores the relationship between shame traumatic memories, centrality of shame memories, early memories of warmth and safeness, fears of compassion, and depression, anxiety and paranoid symptoms. Participants were 302 individuals from the general community population, who completed self-report measures of fears of compassion, shame memories, early affiliative memories, and psychopathology. Shame traumatic and central memories were positively associated... (More)
Empirical and clinical research suggests that some individuals find self-generating compassion and receiving compassion from others difficult and aversive. However, it is unclear how these fears of compassion are linked to early experiences and to psychopathological symptoms. This study explores the relationship between shame traumatic memories, centrality of shame memories, early memories of warmth and safeness, fears of compassion, and depression, anxiety and paranoid symptoms. Participants were 302 individuals from the general community population, who completed self-report measures of fears of compassion, shame memories, early affiliative memories, and psychopathology. Shame traumatic and central memories were positively associated with fears of compassion for self, for others and from others, whereas early memories of warmth and safeness were negatively related to such fears. Path analyses revealed that fears of compassion for self and of receiving compassion from others mediated the effects of shame traumatic memory, centrality of shame memory and early memories of warmth and safeness on depressive, anxious and paranoid symptoms. These findings have implications for therapeutic interventions as these fears, as well as the negative shame-based emotional memories fuelling them, may need to be addressed in therapy to assist patients in self-generating and receiving compassion.
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- author
- Matos, Marcela ; Duarte, Joana LU and Pinto-Gouveia, José
- publishing date
- 2017-11-17
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Anxiety, depression, fear of compassion, paranoid ideation, shame
- in
- Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied
- volume
- 151
- issue
- 8
- pages
- 16 pages
- publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- external identifiers
-
- pmid:29166226
- scopus:85034839399
- ISSN
- 0022-3980
- DOI
- 10.1080/00223980.2017.1393380
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- additional info
- Funding Information: This research has been supported by the first author (Marcela Matos) PostDoctoral grant number SFRH/BPD/84185/2012, sponsored by FCT (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology). Publisher Copyright: © 2017 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
- id
- 5a2fe276-e25c-4098-9acc-999d11955811
- date added to LUP
- 2021-11-18 13:02:02
- date last changed
- 2024-04-20 17:34:56
@article{5a2fe276-e25c-4098-9acc-999d11955811,
abstract = {{<p>Empirical and clinical research suggests that some individuals find self-generating compassion and receiving compassion from others difficult and aversive. However, it is unclear how these fears of compassion are linked to early experiences and to psychopathological symptoms. This study explores the relationship between shame traumatic memories, centrality of shame memories, early memories of warmth and safeness, fears of compassion, and depression, anxiety and paranoid symptoms. Participants were 302 individuals from the general community population, who completed self-report measures of fears of compassion, shame memories, early affiliative memories, and psychopathology. Shame traumatic and central memories were positively associated with fears of compassion for self, for others and from others, whereas early memories of warmth and safeness were negatively related to such fears. Path analyses revealed that fears of compassion for self and of receiving compassion from others mediated the effects of shame traumatic memory, centrality of shame memory and early memories of warmth and safeness on depressive, anxious and paranoid symptoms. These findings have implications for therapeutic interventions as these fears, as well as the negative shame-based emotional memories fuelling them, may need to be addressed in therapy to assist patients in self-generating and receiving compassion.</p>}},
author = {{Matos, Marcela and Duarte, Joana and Pinto-Gouveia, José}},
issn = {{0022-3980}},
keywords = {{Anxiety; depression; fear of compassion; paranoid ideation; shame}},
language = {{eng}},
month = {{11}},
number = {{8}},
pages = {{804--819}},
publisher = {{Taylor & Francis}},
series = {{Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied}},
title = {{The Origins of Fears of Compassion : Shame and Lack of Safeness Memories, Fears of Compassion and Psychopathology}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00223980.2017.1393380}},
doi = {{10.1080/00223980.2017.1393380}},
volume = {{151}},
year = {{2017}},
}