(PS8-80) Do Self-esteem and Social Support Intermediate the Association Between Shame and Quality of Life Among Female Intimate Partner Violence Survivors?

Shame plays a significant role in the context of intimate partner violence (IPV) and appears to be long-lasting following victimization. Shame has been associated with negative psychological outcomes among IPV survivors, including depression and anxiety. A growing body of research has explored the impact of shame on broader areas of wellbeing such as quality of life (QOL), wherein shame was negatively associated with QOL. Further research is needed to understand the relationship between shame and QOL among IPV survivors.

Terror management theory (TMT) posits that awareness of one’s mortality can elicit incapacitating terror. Thoughts of death may facilitate reassessment of events, such as betrayal (e.g., abuse) within an intimate partner relationship. This reevaluation can lead to increased shame, wherein survivors may blame themselves for the abuse. Three mechanisms are postulated to create an “anxiety-buffer” to manage this terror: cultural worldviews, self-esteem, and interpersonal relationships. Research has supported this theory whereby reminders of death, like trauma, were associated with strengthened self-esteem and commitment to personal relationships. The current study extends available literature by examining the direct and intermediary impacts of shame, self-esteem, and social support on QOL, through the framework of TMT.

The sample included 469 help-seeking women who had experienced elevated levels of fear, helplessness, or horror during IPV victimization and were no longer in an abusive relationship. The sample ranged in age from 18 to 75 years  (M_age = 36.27, SD = 12.29). Forty-four percent of participants identified as white with the remaining 55% identifying as a racial/ethnic minority. The Internal Shame Scale was used to evaluate shame; the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale assessed self-esteem; the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support measured perceived level of social support; and the Quality of Life Inventory examined overall quality of life.

A parallel mediation model was conducted using the PROCESS macro for SPSS, with bias-corrected 95% confidence intervals (CI). Intermediating effects were significant if the CIs did not contain zero. Overall, 76% of the variance of QOL was explained by the current model (R² = .759, F (5,314) = 314.05, p < .001). The total effect of the model on QOL (effect = 0.57, SE = 0.02, t = 38.15, p < .001) and the direct effect of shame on QOL were significant (effect = 0.17, SE = 0.037, t = 4.56, p < .001). Each indirect effect, self-esteem (effect = 0.29, SE = 0.06, 95%CI: 0.19, 0.41) and social support (effect = 0.11, SE = 0.04, 95%CI: 0.03, 0.20) was significant.

These findings support the growing literature indicating that shame has a significant negative association with QOL among IPV survivors. Much of the TMT research has examined the anxiety-buffer system in relation to PTSD and survivor wellbeing; the current study expands this by demonstrating that these same mechanisms may intermediate the relationship between shame and wellbeing among survivors of IPV. The experience of IPV is often accompanied by shame, and clinicians may benefit by bolstering self-esteem and social support for those experiencing elevated levels of shame to safeguard and enhance survivors’ QOL.