Tipsword Jordyn M, Jones Alyssa C, Southward Matthew W, Badour Christal L
Department of Psychology, University of Kentucky.
Ralph H. Johnson Veterans Affairs Health Care System.
Psychol Trauma. 2025 Jun 9. doi: 10.1037/tra0001955.
Posttraumatic shame-an emotion stemming from harsh attitudes about the self after trauma-is central to posttraumatic stress disorder for many women following physical or sexual assault or abuse (interpersonal trauma [IPT]). However, knowledge of how shame is experienced in daily life post-IPT (e.g., frequency, intensity, and stability) is lacking. Additionally, though some research has explored shame-specific emotion regulation (ER) or processes aimed at changing emotional responses to shame, it remains unclear which ER strategies are effective in reducing shame.
We explored momentary experiences and regulation of posttraumatic shame via a secondary analysis of ecological momentary assessment data. Sixty women post-IPT completed assessments of shame and their use of six ER strategies (reflection, rumination, reappraisal, emotion sharing, emotion suppression, and distraction) five times per day for 14 days.
Women experiencing more severe baseline posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms reported more intense momentary shame. Experiencing more intense shame than typical was associated with greater next-assessment use of rumination, emotion sharing, and reappraisal. Higher than typical use of rumination, emotion suppression, and distraction was associated with more intense next-assessment shame, and higher than typical use of emotion sharing was associated with more severe next-assessment shame among women with low or moderate posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms.
Findings suggest that women may use both avoidance- and approach-oriented ER strategies at times when shame is more intense. Future researchers should consider contextual factors that may shape the daily experience and regulation of posttraumatic shame post-IPT. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).
创伤后羞耻感——一种源于创伤后对自身严厉态度的情绪——对于许多遭受身体或性侵犯或虐待（人际创伤[IPT]）后的女性来说，是创伤后应激障碍的核心。然而，目前缺乏关于IPT后日常生活中羞耻感体验方式（如频率、强度和稳定性）的了解。此外，尽管一些研究探讨了针对羞耻感的特定情绪调节（ER）或旨在改变对羞耻感情绪反应的过程，但尚不清楚哪些ER策略能有效减轻羞耻感。
我们通过对生态瞬时评估数据的二次分析，探讨了创伤后羞耻感的瞬时体验和调节。60名IPT后的女性在14天内每天进行5次羞耻感评估以及她们对六种ER策略（反思、沉思、重新评价、情绪分享、情绪抑制和分心）的使用情况评估。
报告有更严重创伤后应激障碍基线症状的女性，其瞬时羞耻感更强烈。与通常情况相比，经历更强烈的羞耻感与下一次评估时更多地使用沉思、情绪分享和重新评价相关。对于创伤后应激障碍症状较轻或中等的女性，高于通常水平地使用沉思、情绪抑制和分心与下一次评估时更强烈的羞耻感相关，而高于通常水平地使用情绪分享与下一次评估时更严重的羞耻感相关。
研究结果表明，在羞耻感更强烈时，女性可能会同时使用回避型和趋近型ER策略。未来的研究人员应考虑可能影响IPT后创伤后羞耻感日常体验和调节的背景因素。（PsycInfo数据库记录（c）2025美国心理学会，保留所有权利）
