Shame, Guilt, Anger, And Seeking Psychological Treatment Among A Trauma Exposed Population

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between guilt-proneness, shameproneness, trait anger, PTSD symptoms, and willingness to seek treatment. A sample of 202 introductory psychology students completed questionnaire measures of each of these variables. Based on a self-report measure of PTSD symptoms, the sample was divided into 3 groups: trauma-PTSD group (n = 29); trauma-no PTSD group (n = 72); and a no trauma group (n = 101). Group comparisons revealed a trend that the PTSD group and the no trauma group reported higher levels of shame than the trauma-no PTSD group. The PTSD group also reported higher levels of anger than the no trauma and trauma-no PTSD groups. There were no reported group differences on overall willingness to seek treatment, but the trauma-no PTSD group reported higher willingness to seek treatment despite the stigma associated with it. Measures of anger and shame were the most robust predictors of PTSD symptom severity [F(1,100) = 22.569, p \u3c .000; F(1,100) = 15.492, p \u3c .001 respectively], with anger being the strongest predictor. High levels of anger predicted less overall willingness to seek treatment [F(1,100) = 6.160, p = .015], while high levels of shame predicted less willingness to seek treatment when considering the stigma associated with doing so [F(1,100) = 35.860, p \u3c .001]. Results indicate that shame and anger are very important emotional components of the trauma response and may affect treatment seeking behavior; however, guilt appears to be less important than other emotional variables assessed by this study. Treatment implications are discussed