Child maltreatment as a risk factor for shame: A three-level meta-analytic review

A growing body of research has examined the association between child maltreatment and shame. However, findings have varied considerably, precluding the attainment of conclusive results that could inform clinical practice.

The present meta-analysis aimed to quantitatively synthesize the association between child maltreatment and shame, and to examine potential moderating variables.

A systematic literature search was conducted in Web of Science, ScienceDirect, PubMed, Google Scholar, and CNKI. A three-level meta-analysis was performed to synthesize the effect sizes and conduct moderator analyses.

A total of 62 studies (N = 32,558 participants) yielding 246 effect sizes were included. Results showed a significant positive association between child maltreatment and shame (mean r = 0.244; p < .001). The results of the moderator analyses indicated that the strength of the association increased with the mean age of the participants in the primary study samples. Further, the magnitude of the maltreatment-shame association was greater for emotional abuse (r = 0.332) than for physical abuse (r = 0.196), emotional neglect (r = 0.267), physical neglect (r = 0.203), and sexual abuse (r = 0.187). Also, the association was found to vary across measurements of shame.

The findings indicate that child maltreatment is a risk factor for the development of shame. Practitioners aiming to promote the emotional well-being of child maltreatment survivors should be aware of the role that childhood maltreatment plays in the development of shame.