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Shame and Self-Esteem: A Meta-Analysis
Yohanes Budiarto1,2, Avin Fadilla Helmi1
1Faculty of Psychology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia.
Europe'S Journal of Psychology
|February 9, 2022
Summary
Shame significantly lowers self-esteem, with a strong negative correlation found in this meta-analysis. Age was identified as a key factor influencing this relationship, highlighting its importance in psychological functioning.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Shame is recognized for its detrimental effects on psychological functioning, particularly impacting self-esteem.
- Existing research on the shame-self-esteem link exhibits heterogeneity due to varied methodologies and samples, necessitating further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct a meta-analysis exploring the relationship between shame and self-esteem.
- To assess study heterogeneity and potential publication bias in the shame-self-esteem literature.
Main Methods:
- A random-effects model meta-analysis was performed on 18 studies, encompassing 578 participants, identified from 235 initial articles.
- Meta-regression was employed to investigate potential moderators of the shame-self-esteem relationship.
Main Results:
- A significant, large negative correlation (r = -0.64) was found between shame and self-esteem.
- Substantial heterogeneity was detected among the included studies (I² = 95.093%).
- Age was identified as a significant moderator (p = .002), whereas clinical sample characteristics and study quality did not significantly moderate the effect size.
Conclusions:
- Shame is strongly and negatively associated with self-esteem, indicating that higher levels of shame correspond to lower self-esteem.
- The relationship between shame and self-esteem is influenced by participant age.
- Future research should consider age as a critical variable when examining the impact of shame on self-esteem.
