A Compassion-based Intervention for Internal and External Shame
NCT ID: NCT04600557
Last Updated: 2021-12-01
Study Results
The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.
Basic Information
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COMPLETED
NA
439 participants
INTERVENTIONAL
2019-02-12
2021-11-18
Brief Summary
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Detailed Description
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Self-compassion has been used as an intervention for reducing shame in a variety of research studies, often in the context of a specific psychiatric disorder. However, self-compassion interventions, which aim to change the way one thinks and feels about oneself, may specifically target internal shame but not external shame. It is proposed that receiving compassion from others is an analogous and plausible intervention for external shame. In order to test the theory that trait shame is comprised of both internal and external shame and to test compassion for others as an intervention for external shame, a four-arm randomized pilot study aimed at reducing internal and/or external shame using self-compassion and/or compassion from others is proposed here.
Participants (N=180) scoring high on both internal and external shame on self-report measures will be assessed at baseline using both questionnaires and a shame-memory recall. Participants will be randomized to one of four conditions: a) describing a shameful experience using a self-compassionate prompt and receiving no verbal responses from confederates (self-compassion only), b) describing a shameful experience using a neutral prompt and receiving compassionate responses from confederates (compassion from others only), c) both describing a shameful experience using a self-compassionate prompt and receiving compassionate responses from confederates (self-compassion plus compassion from others), or d) describing a shameful experience using a neutral prompt and receiving no verbal responses from confederates (sharing-only control). Participants will complete questionnaires and shame-memory recalls again immediately following the sharing intervention and at a one-week post-intervention follow-up.
The two primary outcome measures will be state internal shame, as measured by the Internalized Shame Sclae, and state external shame, as measured by the Other As a Shamer scale. Both the Internalized Shame Scale and Other As a Shamer scale will be administered at baseline (immediately pre-treatment), immediately post-treatment, and a one-week post-intervention follow-up. Secondary outcome measures will include the Positive and Negative Affect Scale, and a real-time assessment of state shame.
It is expected that (a) participants assigned to describe a shameful experience using self-compassionate instructions will display larger reductions in internal shame relative to those assigned to describe a shameful experience using neutral instructions; (b) participants who receive compassionate responses from others after sharing a shameful experience will display larger reductions in external shame relative to those assigned to a listening-only control; and (c) participants assigned to describe a shameful experience using self-compassionate instructions combined with receiving compassionate responses from others will display larger reductions in both internal and external shame relative to participants who receive either component alone.
Conditions
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Keywords
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Study Design
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RANDOMIZED
PARALLEL
TREATMENT
SINGLE
Study Groups
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Self-compassion only
Describing a shameful experience using a self-compassionate prompt and receiving no verbal responses from confederates
Describing a shameful experience using a self-compassionate prompt
Participants will be instructed to describe a shameful experience to two confederates using a self-compassionate prompt
Receiving no response from confederates
Following the participant's description of a shameful experience, two confederates will not be allowed to provide any verbal response
Compassion from others only
Describing a shameful experience using a neutral prompt and receiving compassionate responses from confederates
Receiving compassionate responses from confederates
Following the participant's description of a shameful experience, two confederates will respond with compassionate responses
Describing a shameful experience using a neutral prompt
Participants will be instructed to describe a shameful experience to two confederates using a neutral (i.e., not self-compassionate) prompt
Self-compassion plus compassion from others
Both describing a shameful experience using a self-compassionate prompt and receiving compassionate responses from confederates
Describing a shameful experience using a self-compassionate prompt
Participants will be instructed to describe a shameful experience to two confederates using a self-compassionate prompt
Receiving compassionate responses from confederates
Following the participant's description of a shameful experience, two confederates will respond with compassionate responses
Sharing-only control
Describing a shameful experience using a neutral prompt and receiving no verbal responses from confederates
Describing a shameful experience using a neutral prompt
Participants will be instructed to describe a shameful experience to two confederates using a neutral (i.e., not self-compassionate) prompt
Receiving no response from confederates
Following the participant's description of a shameful experience, two confederates will not be allowed to provide any verbal response
Interventions
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Describing a shameful experience using a self-compassionate prompt
Participants will be instructed to describe a shameful experience to two confederates using a self-compassionate prompt
Receiving compassionate responses from confederates
Following the participant's description of a shameful experience, two confederates will respond with compassionate responses
Describing a shameful experience using a neutral prompt
Participants will be instructed to describe a shameful experience to two confederates using a neutral (i.e., not self-compassionate) prompt
Receiving no response from confederates
Following the participant's description of a shameful experience, two confederates will not be allowed to provide any verbal response
Other Intervention Names
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria
* Can recall two shameful experiences
Exclusion Criteria
* Endorses intent to harm or kill others
18 Years
ALL
No
Sponsors
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University of Texas at Austin
OTHER
Responsible Party
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Michael J. Telch
Professor of Psychology
Principal Investigators
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Michael J Telch, PhD
Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
Professor of Psychology
Locations
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The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas, United States
Countries
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References
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Cook, D. R. Measuring shame: the internalized shame scale. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly, 1987; 4, 197- 215.
del Rosario, P.M., & White, R.M. The Internalized Shame Scale: Temporal stability, internal consistency, and principal components analysis. Personality and Individual Differences. 2006; 41, 95-103.
Goss, K., Gilbert, P., & Allen, S. An exploration of shame measures-I: The Other As Shamer scale. Person. Individ. Diff.,1994; 17(5), 713-717.
Andrews B, Qian M, Valentine JD. Predicting depressive symptoms with a new measure of shame: The Experience of Shame Scale. Br J Clin Psychol. 2002 Mar;41(Pt 1):29-42. doi: 10.1348/014466502163778.
Neff, K.D. The development and validation of a scale to measure self-compassion. Self and Identity. 2003; 2, 223-250.
Rybak, C.J. & Brown, B. Assessment of internalized shame: Validity and reliability of the Internalized Shame Scale. Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly. 1996; 14:1.
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing. 2013.
Au TM, Sauer-Zavala S, King MW, Petrocchi N, Barlow DH, Litz BT. Compassion-Based Therapy for Trauma-Related Shame and Posttraumatic Stress: Initial Evaluation Using a Multiple Baseline Design. Behav Ther. 2017 Mar;48(2):207-221. doi: 10.1016/j.beth.2016.11.012. Epub 2016 Nov 29.
Gilbert P. The evolution of social attractiveness and its role in shame, humiliation, guilt and therapy. Br J Med Psychol. 1997 Jun;70(2):113-47. doi: 10.1111/j.2044-8341.1997.tb01893.x.
Gilbert, P. What Is shame? Some core issues and controversies. In Shame: Interpersonal behavior, psychopathology, and culture. 1998.
Gilbert, P., & Procter, S. Compassionate mind training for people with high shame and self-criticism: Overview and pilot study of a group therapy approach. In Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy. 2006; 13(6): 353-379. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.507
Johnson, E. A., & O'Brien, K. A. Self-Compassion Soothes the Savage EGO-Threat System: Effects on Negative Affect, Shame, Rumination, and Depressive Symptoms. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology. 2013; 32(9), 939-963. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2013.32.9.939
Judge, L., Cleghorn, A., McEwan, K., & Gilbert, P. An exploration of group-based compassion focused therapy for a heterogeneous range of clients presenting to a community mental health team. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy. 2012. https://doi.org/10.1521/ijct.2012.5.4.420
Kim S, Thibodeau R, Jorgensen RS. Shame, guilt, and depressive symptoms: a meta-analytic review. Psychol Bull. 2011 Jan;137(1):68-96. doi: 10.1037/a0021466.
Lewis, M. Shame: The exposed self. New York: Free Press. 1992.
Lewis, M. The role of the self in shame. Social Research, 70, 1181-1204. 2003.
Luoma JB, Kohlenberg BS, Hayes SC, Fletcher L. Slow and steady wins the race: a randomized clinical trial of acceptance and commitment therapy targeting shame in substance use disorders. J Consult Clin Psychol. 2012 Feb;80(1):43-53. doi: 10.1037/a0026070. Epub 2011 Oct 31.
Skinta, M. D., Lezama, M., Wells, G., & Dilley, J. W. Acceptance and Compassion-Based Group Therapy to Reduce HIV Stigma. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice. 2015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2014.05.006
Other Identifiers
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2018-07-0058
Identifier Type: -
Identifier Source: org_study_id