(PS10-19) Gender differences in the effects of shame on the development of social phobia following traumatic events in Hispanic young adults.

Abstract Text: Traumatic life events can trigger not only posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) but also trauma-related emotions such as shame and guilt (e.g., Lee et al., 2001). The literature also suggests that individuals with PTSS are at high risk of developing social phobia (e.g., Bjornsson et al., 2020). Guilt and shame may act as mediators in the causal association between PTSS and social phobia. The present study investigated the pathway from PTSS to social phobia and examined shame and guilt as mediators in Hispanic young adults. Gender as a moderator in the mediation models were examined.
 
Participants were 210 Hispanic undergraduate students (160 women and 50 men) who reported traumatic experiences (e.g., sexual assault, car accident, childhood trauma). They completed an online self-report questionnaire battery twice (time 1 = T1, time 2 = T2), 8 weeks apart. The questionnaires included demographic questions (T1 only) and standardized measures assessing trauma symptoms (PCL-5), trauma-related shame (TRSI) and guilt (TRGI), and social phobia (SPS).  
 
All of the Pearson correlations between the target variables were significant (.10< r <.68, ps < .05). Four moderated mediation models were tested with trauma symptoms in T1 as the predictor, social phobia at T2 as the outcome. Shame at T1 and T2 and guilt at T1 and T2 were tested as a mediator in separate models. Gender was included as a moderator for all paths. Results showed that shame at T1 and T2 partially mediated the association between trauma symptom severity and social phobia among women (p < .05). Shame at T1 and T2 fully mediated the association for men, showing a strong relationship at T2. Neither guilt at T1 nor guilt at T2 mediated this association for either gender (p > .05).  

As hypothesized, shame at both T1 and T2 mediated the relationship between PTSS and subsequent social phobia for both genders, with stronger mediation effects observed in men than in women. These findings highlight the significant prolonged impact of shame to social functioning particularly among Hispanic male trauma survivors. This might be explained by the possibility that Hispanic men perceive shame as an unacceptable emotion, as it might be associated with weakness or a lack of “masculinity.” As a result, men may experience feelings of inferiority and avoid social situations. The mediation effect of shame among women was relatively limited. For women, shame may be an acceptable emotion, resulting in a limited impact to subsequent psychopathology.   

Guilt did not mediate the association. Guilt often arises when trauma victims blame themselves for their trauma experiences. The current sample may have experienced relatively low levels of guild, explaining the non-significant mediation path.  

The current findings provide insights into the complex associations among PTSS, trauma-related emotions, and social phobia, depending on gender. A limitation of this study is the sample size of men. The generalizability of the current results to other populations is limited. Future research should examine the models using an extended longitudinal design with gender-balanced clinical samples. Exploring additional moderators such as coping skills and maladaptive cognitions may provide further insights.