Shame in adolescents : the relationship between shame and anger and the role of self compassion

Background: Previous studies suggest there is a relationship between shame and anger but findings are somewhat inconsistent. Research on self compassion is still in its infancy but it has been suggested to be a protective factor for a number of psychopathologies. Objective: The primary objective of this study was to assess the relationship between shame and anger in an adolescent sample and whether self compassion was a moderator in this relationship. The study also aimed to further distinguish between self compassion and self esteem by considering the former's relationship to anger when controlling for the benefits of self esteem. Method: The study adopted a quantitative, cross-sectional survey design. The sample consisted of 145 young people aged between 14 and 17 years old. Participants completed measures of shame, self compassion, anger, depression and self esteem. Analysis was conducted using multiple regression. Results: The analysis revealed that shame was a significant predictor of trait anger and anger expression when controlling for self esteem and depression. Self compassion was not found to be a moderator of the relationship between shame and trait anger. Finally self compassion predicted unique variance in trait anger when controlling for self esteem. Discussion: Findings demonstrate an association between shame and anger that could be explained by theories that suggest the painful experience of shame leads to anger (Lewis, 1971). Self compassion was found to be highly correlated with shame which may explain the non significant moderator finding. Self compassion appears to better predict lower levels of anger possibly due to its non evaluative nature. This study is limited by its methodology as casual assumptions cannot be inferred.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo