Self-Compassion as a Predictor of Traumatic Shameful Memories among Selected Indian Sexually Abused Female Children

The Graduate School, University of Santo Tomas Espafia, Manila, The Philippines Self-compassion or extend compassion to one's self in instances of perceived inadequacy, failure, or suffering is a topic of substantial and emergent scientific interest. The present study examined the possible predictive effect of self-compassion on traumatic shameful memories of sexually abused female children. Participants involved 158 selected female victims of child sexual abuse from Nirbhaya shelter homes from Kerala, India who completed the Self-Compassion Scale, Trauma-Related Shame Inventory and Experience of Shame Scale that measured self- compassion and shameful memories respectively. Findings of this study showed a significantly strong negative relationship between sexually abused children's self-compassion and traumatic shameful memories. Self- compassion significantly predicted changes in traumatic shameful memories, such that greater reductions in the trauma-related shame were significantly associated with higher levels of self-compassion. Regression analysis of the data showed that self-compassion factors could account a significant variance of 83.3% in internal shame, 79% in external shame, 83% in characterological shame, 81.4% in behavioral shame and 73.3% in bodily shame aspects of traumatic shameful memories. These findings are consistent with the impression that self-compassion represents as an essential constituent for emotional issues such as trauma-related shame. This correlational study endorses the needs for psychotherapeutic intervention program in order to help traumatized children for accepting themselves by alleviating shameful memories.