The role of shame and self-critical thinking in the development and maintenance of current threat in post-traumatic stress disorder.

There is increasing recognition of emotions other than fear in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and recent research has looked at the role of shame. Cognitive theory suggests that PTSD is caused by traumatic experiences being processed in a way that causes ongoing current threat. In this paper we suggest that shame might contribute to the creation/maintenance of ongoing current threat as it attacks an individual's psychological integrity. A correlational design was used to investigate some of the factors that might contribute to a shame response within a PTSD sample. It was hypothesized that individuals with PTSD who report higher levels of shame would be more prone to engage in self-critical thinking and less prone to engage in self-reassuring thinking than individuals with PTSD who report lower levels of shame. Data were gathered using self-report questionnaires, and results supported the hypotheses. It is suggested therapy for shame-based PTSD needs to incorporate strategies to help individuals develop inner caring, compassion and self-reassurance. 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.