Shame as a mediator of the association of childhood emotional abuse with aversive cognitive perseveration in adults

Childhood emotional abuse (CEA) has been linked to response-focused emotion regulation in adulthood. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unexplored. This pre-registered study examined whether shame mediates the association between CEA history and aversive cognitive perseveration (ACP), including brooding rumination, experiential avoidance and emotional non-acceptance, in adulthood.

Citation:
Amini-Tehrani M, Weinborn M, Sim K, Ohan JL, Naragon-Gainey K. Shame as a mediator of the association of childhood emotional abuse with aversive cognitive perseveration in adults. Br J Psychol. 2026.

Keywords:
Childhood maltreatment; emotion regulation; emotional abuse; self‐referential processing; shame

Abstract:
Childhood emotional abuse (CEA) has been linked to response-focused emotion regulation in adulthood. However, the underlying mechanisms remain unexplored. This pre-registered study examined whether shame mediates the association between CEA history and aversive cognitive perseveration (ACP), including brooding rumination, experiential avoidance and emotional non-acceptance, in adulthood.