An exploratory study on the relationship between shame and bodily pain

Shame emerges through social life and influences directly self-image as well as the perception of what others think of self. Bodily pain and disease also influence self-image and others’ behavior towards self. The present study was designed to investigate the experience of shame in connection with a physical pain that occurred in the past. 384 healthy individuals participated to the present study. Two groups were formed according to the experience of shame. The first group constituted of 57 individuals who reported being ashamed of a past bodily pain, while the other group constituted of 327 individuals who reported not being ashamed of such a pain experience. The measures used were: a) A questionnaire concerning socio-demographic information, b) the Other As Shamer Scale (OAS), c) the Experience of Shame Scale (ESS) and d) the revised version of Symptom Check-List (SCL-90). Higher levels of internal and external shame and psychopathology were observed among participants who reported being ashamed for experiencing pain. The results of the present study replicated previous findings. The need for health professionals to assess shame in patients experiencing pain and apply relevant information to the therapeutic regimen was apparent.

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