Early shaming experiences and psychological distress: The role of experiential avoidance and self-compassion

Abstract

Objectives: Early shaming experiences have been suggested to be associated with later psychopathological symptoms. Understanding this relationship is complex, due to a number of psychological processes potentially influencing this. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to further explore the nature of the mediating effect of experiential avoidance in the association between early shame experiences and psychological distress, and whether self-compassion moderates this relationship by mitigating the effects of this. Design: A cross-sectional design was conducted using self-report measures of early shaming experiences, experiential avoidance, self-compassion, and psychological distress. Method: An online study of 556 participants, comprised of participants from the general population and university students participated within this online study. Results: The moderated mediation model explained 51% of variance within depressive symptoms. Experiential avoidance was found to mediate the association between early shaming experiences and depressive symptoms. This mediating relationship was shown to be moderated by self-compassion, with higher levels of self-compassion being associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms across all levels of experiential avoidance levels (low, medium, and high). Conclusion: These findings suggest that self-compassion may play a significant buffering role within attenuating the effects of experiential avoidance associated with depressive symptoms. Such findings present important clinical and theoretical implications in further understanding the protective role of self-compassion within early shaming experiences and the relationship between depressive symptoms. Practitioner points: Early shaming experiences have been linked to later psychological distress. Experiential avoidance identified a core underlying psychological process in the relationship between early shaming experiences and psychological distress. Self-compassion offers a range of protective features that may alleviate the effects of experiential avoidance and depressive symptoms. Self-compassion-based interventions that target experiential avoidance may offer greater reductions within depressive symptoms.