Researching Shame, Dissociation, and Their Relationship Using Latent Change Modeling

Shame and dissociation play pivotal roles in the pathogenesis and treatment of (complex) post-traumatic stress disorder. However, the causal relationship between these two symptoms remains unclear. We tested the association between state shame and state dissociation in 249 participants (Mage = 27.55; SDage = 8.74; 60.24% female; 84.7% no mental illness). After completing questionnaires (trait shame and dissociation, trauma history), participants were randomly allocated to an imaginative shame or dissociation induction group, and changes in state shame and dissociation were measured. The data were analyzed using latent change score modeling. We found significant changes in both state shame and dissociation, with an isolated change of state shame in the shame induction group but changes in both shame and dissociation in the dissociation induction group. Thus, state shame and dissociation correlated only with the induction of dissociation. We found an effect of trait variables only on state dissociation and no effect of trauma history on state variables. The interaction between shame and dissociation remains complex and is only partially understood. Our study adds to research supporting the assumption that dissociation leads to shame. In addition, in experimental psychopathology approaches, imaginative procedures seem more suitable for studying shame than for studying dissociative symptoms.