Behavioral Self-blame Research Articles

A measure of attributions for peer victimization: psychometric properties and differences among bullying roles

ABSTRACT Attributional processes about why outcomes occur constitute an important mediating mechanism that can explain different reactions of both the targets of harassment and their peers. The present study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of a measure of attributions for victimization among adolescents, using Confirmatory Factor Analyses, and to examine differences among roles (i.e., not involved, bullies, victims, bully-victims) in self-blame attributions, by means of testing invariance. The sample consisted of 1,207 adolescents (54% females; Mage = 14.89; SD = 1.39). The results showed a multidimensional structure of the scale with three factors (Characterological self-blame, Behavioral self-blame, and External Attribution). Partial invariance was found across different roles, highlighting a difference in the latent means of Characterological Self-Blame, higher in the victim group than in the other roles. The findings suggested how victims showed biases in their interpretations of social situations attributing the negative experience to internal, stable, and uncontrollable causes.

Linking alcohol-involved sexual assault to negative emotional outcomes: the relative mediating roles of shame, self-compassion, fear of self-compassion, and self-blame.

Alcohol-involved sexual assault (AISA) survivors who were drinking at the time of the assault may be at risk of internalizing victim-blaming myths and stigma. Cognitive-behavioral models posit the link between AISA and negative emotional outcomes may be explained through maladaptive appraisals and coping - i.e., characterological and behavioral self-blame, shame, low self-compassion (i.e., high self-coldness, low self-caring), and fear of self-compassion. Using a cross-sectional design and community sample of younger adults (N = 409 Canadians, M = 28.2 years old, 51.3% women), we examined these mechanisms' unique effects in mediating the associations between AISA and posttraumatic stress, general anxiety, and depressive symptoms, respectively. In terms of gender differences, AISA was more common, self-coldness higher, and general anxiety symptoms more frequent in women, and fear of self-compassion was higher in men. Using structural equation modeling that controlled for gender and the overlap between outcomes, shame emerged as the strongest mediator linking AISA with all emotional outcomes. Fear of self-compassion also partially mediated the AISA-posttraumatic stress symptom association, self-coldness partially mediated the AISA-general anxiety symptom association, and characterological self-blame fully mediated the AISA-depressive symptom association. Avoidance-based processes, ruminative-/worry-based cognitions, and negative self-evaluative cognitions may be distinctly relevant for AISA-related posttraumatic stress, general anxiety, and depressive symptoms, respectively, after accounting for the overarching mediation through shame. These internalized stigma-related mechanisms may be useful to prioritize in treatment to potentially reduce AISA-related negative emotional outcomes, particularly for AISA survivors with posttraumatic stress, general anxiety, and/or depressive symptoms.

Behavioral Self-Blame in PTSD-Etiology, Risk Factors, and Proposed Interventions.

Feeling out of control during a traumatic event may evoke behavioral self-blame (BSB) to avoid feeling helpless following trauma by restoring one's sense of control. BSB is a common, persistent, and treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress symptom. The present study investigates the etiology and risk factors of BSB following a traumatic event and the reasons for its persistence over time. Subjects were a group of 546 Israeli ex-combat soldiers (M age = 24.93 ± 5.657) registered in an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) combat reaction clinic. All completed the Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire (PDEQ), the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), and the PTSD Checklist for the DSM-5 (PCL-5). Item 10 of the PCL-5 served to measure BSB. The PDEQ and BSI measured distress and feeling out of control during the event. We used descriptive analyses of the data, t-test, and linear regression analysis to reveal the relationship between the research variables. Feeling out of control during a traumatic event often increases BSB and post-traumatic stress symptoms. A significant correlation emerged between continuing distress characterizing individuals who experience a persistent lack of control and BSB. Female combat soldiers were at a higher risk of BSB than their male counterparts. Loss of control experienced during a traumatic event may result in persistent long-term feelings of lack of control over one's behavior.

Relational Victimization, Characterological Self-Blame, and Adjustment in Young Children.

The associations between relational victimization, self-blame attributions, and internalizing problems in early childhood has not previously been examined. Using a sample of 116 preschool children, average age 44.05 months (SD = 4.23), multiple informants, multiple methods, and a longitudinal design, path analyses were conducted to explore the associations between relational victimization, self-blame attributions (Characterological Self-Blame[CSB] and Behavioral Self-Blame[BSB]), and maladjustment in early childhood. Concurrent significant associations were found between relational victimization and internalizing problems. The initial longitudinal models revealed some significant effects that were consistent with predictions. Importantly, follow-up tests decomposing internalizing problems, indicated that anxiety at Time 1 was positively and significantly associated with CSB at Time 2. Depression at Time1 was negatively and significantly associated with CSB at Time 2. Implications of this work are discussed.

Validity and Reliability of the Cardiac Self-Blame Attributions Scale in Turkish

Objective: This study was conducted to adapt the cardiac self-blame scale developed by Harry et al. in 2018 into Turkish. Materials and Methods: The sample of the study consisted of 125 patients with cardiovascular disease. Confirmatory (CFA)factor analyses were conducted to examine the construct validity of the scale and the correlation of it between similar scales was analyzed within the scope of criterion validity. As a result of confirmatory factor analysis, it was observed that the two-factor (Behavioral Self-Blame and Characterological Self-Blame) structure of the scale was preserved in the Turkish sample as well. Results: In the analysis performed for criterion-related validity, significant correlations were found between the scale and other scales (p<0.01). Conclusion: The findings obtained because of the validity and reliability studies of the cardiac self-blame attributions scale, which was adapted into Turkish, revealed can be used to determine the accusations against the behavior and characters of individuals with cardiac disease in Turkish society.

Attributions about Peer Victimization in US and Korean Adolescents and Associations with Internalizing Problems.

Although there is cultural variability in how individuals make attributions for their own and others' behaviors, cultural variation in youth's attributions about peer victimization and their relation with internalizing problems has gone unexamined. To address this issue, adolescents from the U.S. (n = 292, 60% female, 79.5% White, Mage = 13.6, SD = 0.65) and Korea (n = 462, 50.2% female, Mage = 13.7, SD = 0.58) reported on their peer victimization, depressive symptoms, social anxiety, self-worth, and rated their attributions to vignettes about peer victimization. Multigroup confirmatory analyses found that Korean and American youth conceptualized characterological self-blame, behavioral self-blame, and externalization of blame similarly. However, Korean youth differentially endorsed each of the three types of attributions, while U.S. adolescents endorsed characterological self-blame and behavioral self-blame at similar levels. Attributions had unique relations with internalizing problems (depression, social anxiety, global self-worth) in each culture. In multigroup SEM analyses, characterological self-blame predicted all internalizing problems for U.S. adolescents, while behavioral self-blame was not uniquely related to internalizing problems. For Korean adolescents, behavioral self-blame significantly predicted all internalizing problems, whereas characterological self-blame predicted global self-worth only. The results suggest that attributions about victimization have different adjustment implications in Korea than in the U.S.

"It's Not You, It's Me": Examining the Roles of Romantic Self-Blame and Social Support in Pathways From Peer Victimization to Emerging Adult Depressive Symptoms.

Although experiences of adolescent peer victimization elevate risk for depressive symptoms during emerging adulthood, the mechanisms underlying this pathway are not well-understood. Drawing from attribution theory and models of relational schemas, the current study introduces romantic self-blame as a putative novel mechanism linking adolescent peer victimization to emerging adult depressive symptoms and evaluates perceived social support as a protective factor. A diverse sample of 350 emerging adults completed self-report measures of retrospective peer victimization, romantic characterological and behavioral self-blaming attributions, social support, and depressive symptoms. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the hypothesized two-factor structure of romantic self-blame. Additionally, conditional process models demonstrated that elevated romantic characterological-but not behavioral-self-blame partially explained the association between retrospective peer victimization and current depressive symptoms, particularly among those perceiving low social support. Results suggest that earlier peer victimization may alter emerging adults' romantic appraisals in ways that increase distress, particularly in the absence of supportive interpersonal relationships.

The association of self-blame with treatment preferences in a multi-country cohort of advanced cancer patients from the APPROACH study

ObjectiveTo understand the prevalence of behavioral and characterological self-blame and their associations with stated preferences for life-extension and the use of pain-relief medication in a multi-country cohort of advanced cancer patients. MethodsThe prevalence of self-blame and reasons participants attributed to their diagnosis was assessed in a sample of 968 advanced cancer patients enrolled in one of five sites from four Asian countries of the multi-country cross-sectional survey titled APRROACH. Ordered probit and Firth logistic regressions were used to determine associations between each type of self-blame and two treatment-related outcomes: participants' stated preference for life-extension and the use of pain-relief medication in the last 24 h. ResultsBehavioral and characterological self-blame were reported by 41% and 49% of the participants respectively, with only 19% and 2% of participants providing a logically consistent reason for the two types of self-blame. We observed no statistically significant differences in stated preferences for life-extension for either type of self-blame and in the use of pain-relief medication for participants reporting behavioral self-blame. However, participants reporting characterological self-blame were 9.7% (95% CI, 2.0% to 17.3%; p = 0.014) more likely to report using pain-relief medication compared to participants not reporting characterological self-blame. ConclusionsA substantial proportion of patients report self-blame and those reporting characterological self-blame appear more likely to use pain medication. Therefore, developing interventions aimed at reducing characterological self-blame might help patients receive only appropriate treatments as opposed to treatments pursued in response to feelings of self-blame.

Self-blame Attributions of Patients: a Systematic Review Study.

Introduction:Psychological aspects are important issues in patients that will have significant effects on disease progression. A new and important psychological concern is self-blame. This review was performed with the aim of systematic review on studies around patient’s self-blame.Methods:This is a systematic review using international databases including PubMed (since 1950), Scopus (since 2004), Web ofSciences (since 1900), and ProQuest (since 1938) and Irani an databases including SID (since 2004) and Magiran (since 2001). Mesh terms including “patient,” “regret,” and “guilt” and non-Mesh terms including “self-blame attribution,” “characterological self-blame,” “behavioral self-blame,” and “blame” were used in Iranian and international databases with OR and AND operators.Results:The review yielded 59 articles; 15 articles were included in the present study. The ages of patients ranged from 29-68.4 years. Most of studies (86.6%) had cross-sectional design and use characterological self-blame and behavioral self-blame variablesfor assessing self-blame attributions. The results showed that in most studies, a significant relationship among self-blame and psychological distress, anxiety, and depression were reported.Conclusions:A significant relation was reported between self-blaming and the degree of distress, anxiety, and depression in patients in most of the studies.

The Moderating Effect of Perceived Control on the Relationship Between Traumatic Experience and Posttraumatic Growth in Female Victims of Sexual Violence

본 연구는 성폭력 피해 경험이 있는 성인 여성을 대상으로 외상경험과 외상 후 성장의 관계를 조절하는 변인으로 지각된 통제감의 역할을 확인하고자 하였다. 825명의 연구 참여자를 대상으로 인구통계학적 특성 질문지 및 외상 사건 리스트, 한국판 외상 후 성장 척도, 성폭력 귀인 척도를 사용하였다. 성폭력 피해경험을 가장 고통스러운 경험으로 지각한 52명의 설문 자료를 최종 분석하였다. 본 연구는 성폭력 피해경험자의 회복과 성장을 의미하는 외상 후 성장에 대한 양적 연구로 성폭력 피해 경험자의 심리치료에서 중요한 주제인 지각된 통제감에 대한 연구이다. 연구 결과에서 성폭력 피해 경험자의 외상경험과 외상 후 성장의 관계에서 외상경험과 지각된 통제감이 상호작용하여 외상 후 성장에 부적인 영향을 미치는 것으로 확인되었다. 성폭력 피해 경험자의 외상경험과 외상 후 성장의 관계에서 지각된 통제감 중 과거 통제감(행동적 자기비난)이 조절 효과를 보였다. 성폭력 피해 경험자의 치료 개입 시, 행동적 자기비난의 감소를 통해 외상 후 성장을 돕는 방향성을 시사하였다.The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of perceived control as a factor controlling the relationship between trauma experience and post-traumatic growth in adult women who experienced sexual violence. We used demographic characteristics questionnaire, traumatic events list, K-PTGI, and RAQ for 825 participants. 52 questionnaires who perceived experience of sexual violence as the most painful experience were used for final analysis. This study is a quantitative study on post-traumatic growth, meaning recovery and growth of victims of sexual violence, and the study of perceived control, which is an important topic in psychotherapy of victims of sexual violence. The results showed that the traumatic experience and perceived control interacted in the relationship between traumatic experience and posttraumatic growth of victims of sexual violence. In the relationship between traumatic experience and post-traumatic growth of victims of sexual violence, past control (behavioral self-blame) showed a moderating effect. In the case of intervention in therapy by experienced sexual violence victims, it suggested a direction to help post-traumatic growth through a reduction in behavioral self-blame.

Stress and impact of spirituality as a mediator of coping methods among social work college students

ABSTRACTThis exploratory pilot study was conducted to understand the stress level and coping strategies of social work students, with the aim to develop strategies to help students increase their ability to manage stress. The study examined the levels of stress perceived by the students in a faith-based program, identified their coping methods, and explored the impact of spirituality on the perceived stress level. A significant association between students’ stress levels and their coping methods existed among all the measures. Adaptive coping methods, such as Active Coping, Positive Framing, and Religion, were significantly correlated with lower levels of stress, while maladaptive coping methods, such as Behavioral Disengagement, Self-Distraction, Denial, Substance Abuse, Venting, and Self-Blame were correlated with higher levels of stress. Spirituality had a greater buffering effect on the students’ ability to handle stress. The higher the level of student spirituality the less likely the students were to have higher levels of stress and the more likely they were to use adaptive coping methods rather than dysfunctional coping methods. This study discusses the important ramifications of reducing stress in college students especially in a faith-based program, as well as strategies for reframing how stress and coping methods are viewed so as to better help students for current and future social work education and practice landscapes.

Exploring the mediating role of self-blame and coping in the relationships between self-compassion and distress in females following the sexual assault.

The present study investigated the associations between self-compassion, self-blame, disengagement coping, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression symptom severity among females who had experienced sexual assault. We also examined whether the relationships between self-compassion and both PTSD and depression severity were mediated by self-blame and coping. A volunteer sample of female adults (N = 207) completed surveys online or on paper. Mediational analyses showed that higher self-compassion was associated with lower behavioral self-blame, characterological self-blame (CSB), and disengagement coping which, in turn, were associated with less PTSD. Higher self-compassion was associated with less depression severity directly and indirectly via CSB. These findings suggest that self-compassion may be relevant for understanding postassault mental health, partially through its associations with self-blame and coping. Clinicians working with sexual assault survivors may choose to augment treatment-as-usual with interventions designed to increase self-compassion.

Scale development and psychometric properties of the Cardiac Self-Blame Attributions scale in patients with cardiovascular disease.

Patients with cardiovascular disease may attribute their cardiovascular disease to their behaviors (behavioral self-blame) or to their dispositions (characterological self-blame). However, findings are mixed on the effects of behavioral self-blame and characterological self-blame on health outcomes, possibly because there are no validated, multiple-item measures. This study developed and tested an 11-item Cardiac Self-Blame Attributions scale via questionnaire data from 121 patients with cardiovascular disease. Results yielded a two-factor structure that explained 65 percent of the variance, with good reliability and discriminant validity. Findings suggest that the scale is reliable and valid and can be used to understand the cardiac attributions patients create.

Self-Blame and PTSD Following Sexual Assault: A Longitudinal Analysis.

Sexual assault is a prevalent trauma associated with high rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Social cognitive theories posit that behavioral self-blame (i.e., attributing the cause of the assault to personal peri-event behavior) contributes to the etiology and maintenance of PTSD symptoms. Yet the direction of the association between self-blame and PTSD symptoms in the acute aftermath of sexual assault is unknown. This study evaluated temporal pathways between behavioral self-blame and PTSD symptom severity in an epidemiological sample of sexual assault survivors (n = 126) assessed at four time points in the months immediately following the assault. Results of cross-lagged panel modeling revealed that reports of behavioral self-blame at the first assessment following sexual assault predicted PTSD symptom severity at Time 2. However, there was no association between behavioral self-blame at Time 2 and PTSD symptom severity at Time 3, nor was there an association between behavioral self-blame at Time 3 and PTSD symptom severity at Time 4. Instead, PTSD symptom severity predicted behavioral self-blame at Times 3 and 4. Findings suggest that behavioral self-blame following sexual assault may be particularly relevant to the onset of PTSD symptoms, while PTSD symptoms themselves appear to intensify subsequent perceptions of behavioral self-blame. Clinical implications and limitations are discussed.

Teachers’ reactions to experiences of violence: an attributional analysis

Violence perpetrated against teachers is prevalent and has the potential to adversely affect teachers’ well-being, efficacy, and longevity in the profession. In this study, we examined teachers’ reactions after having experienced violence, specifically examining the roles of attributional processes. In collaboration with the American Psychological Association, National Education Association, and American Federation of Teachers, data were collected via a survey instrument from teachers across the United States. We examined responses from 2505 participants who described the most upsetting incident of violence that had been perpetrated against them in their roles as teachers. We examined predictors of (1) communicating with others after the incident and (2) implementing intervention strategies with the perpetrators of violence. Emotions were tested as mediators of the relations between attributions and outcomes. Results indicated that characterological and behavioral self-blame were predictive of negative affect, which in turn predicted the majority of outcomes. Study limitations and implications for research and practice are discussed.

Gaining Control Over Traumatic Experiences: The Role of Guilt in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

ABSTRACTThe present study explores the relationship between guilt, sense of control, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Seventy-eight participants who had experienced a traumatic event completed the following self-report measures online: the Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale, the Guilt Cognitions subscale of the Trauma-Related Guilt Inventory, the Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory, and Sense of Control During the Trauma. Results revealed that “behavioral self-blame” that refers to functioning during the trauma, positively correlated with posttraumatic stress symptoms. However, when Sense of Control During the Trauma was introduced into the analysis, this correlation appeared only for participants who had experienced lack of control during the traumatic event. Among the participants who had experienced a sense of control, no such link was found. Results suggest that guilt may be produced to avoid feelings of helplessness following the trauma, because guilt conveys a sense of control.

Characterizing Sexual Violence in Intimate Relationships: An Examination of Blame Attributions and Rape Acknowledgment.

Rape by an intimate partner frequently involves a precedence of sexual consent between victim and perpetrator, often does not include the use of physical force, and may not fit societal definitions of rape. Given these unique characteristics, women who are assaulted by an intimate partner may be less likely to acknowledge the experience as a rape. In turn, they might make fewer blame attributions toward themselves and their perpetrators than victims of rape by a nonpartner. Consistent with these expectations, results from 208 community women reporting rape in adulthood revealed the presence of indirect effects of perpetrator type (nonpartner vs. intimate partner) on both behavioral self-blame and perpetrator blame through rape acknowledgment, even when controlling for both victim substance use at the time of the assault and coercion severity. Compared with women who experienced a rape by a nonpartner, women who experienced rape in the context of a marital or dating relationship were less likely to blame themselves or the perpetrator for the assault, in part because they were less likely to label their experience as a rape. Overall, these findings highlight the unique nature of intimate partner rape and provide further information about the relatively underresearched area of sexual violence in intimate relationships.

Contributions of Child Sexual Abuse, Self-Blame, Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, and Alcohol Use to Women’s Risk for Forcible and Substance-Facilitated Sexual Assault

ABSTRACTChild sexual abuse and adult sexual assault have been linked to increased self-blame, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and alcohol use. The current study aims to examine (a) whether these constructs explain women’s risk for later adult sexual assault and revictimization, (b) whether such factors differentially confer risk for specific types of adult sexual assault (i.e., substance-facilitated and forcible), and (c) if self-blame confers risk indirectly through other risk factors. Multiple types of self-blame, posttraumatic stress, and alcohol use were examined among 929 female college students as serial mediators of the relationship between child sexual abuse and adult sexual assault and as risk factors for sexual revictimization among child sexual abuse survivors. In the model predicting risk for substance-facilitated adult sexual assault, child sexual abuse indirectly predicted greater risk for substance-facilitated adult sexual assault mediated through two separate paths: global blame-to-posttraumatic-stress and global blame-to-alcohol use. In the model predicting risk for forcible adult sexual assault, child sexual abuse directly predicted greater risk for forcible adult sexual assault, and this relation was mediated by the global blame-to-posttraumatic-stress path. Among child sexual abuse survivors, child sexual abuse specific characterological and behavioral self-blame directly predicted greater risk for forcible and substance-facilitated revictimization, but the pathways were not mediated by posttraumatic stress or alcohol use. Results emphasize the importance of assessing different types of self-blame in predicting posttraumatic stress symptoms as well as examining risk for sexual victimization and revictimization. Findings did not support hypotheses that increased posttraumatic stress would predict increased alcohol use but did indicate that heightened self-blame is consistently associated with heightened posttraumatic stress and that heightened global self-blame predicts increased alcohol use. Implications for future research and intervention are discussed.

Longitudinal Effects of Sexual Assault Victims' Drinking and Self-Blame on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

Alcohol plays a major role in sexual assaults, but few studies have examined its impact on recovery outcomes, particularly in longitudinal studies. In a longitudinal study of 1,013 adult sexual assault survivors, we investigated the effects of victim drinking on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as well as the mediating role of characterological and behavioral self-blame attributions. In line with some prior research, victims who were drinking before their assault experienced less PTSD, but more self-blame than those who were not. Characterological, but not behavioral self-blame was related to increased PTSD symptoms. Thus, although drinking was overall related to less PTSD, it was also associated with increased PTSD via self-blame attributions, highlighting the danger of blaming victims of alcohol-related rapes for their assaults. Implications for future research and clinical work with survivors of alcohol-related sexual assaults are drawn.

Teachers’ Experiences With Multiple Victimization: Identifying Demographic, Cognitive, and Contextual Correlates

Extant scholarship has primarily examined demographic predictors of teacher victimization. Teacher multiple victimization, or the extent to which teachers experience multiple types of violence, has not been examined. Using social-ecological theory, we examine correlates of violence among 2,324 teachers who reported having been victimized at least once. Male teachers were more likely to report student-generated multiple victimization, and White teachers were more likely to experience multiple forms of violence generated by students and parents. Teacher attributions also played an important role. Characterological and behavioral self-blame were associated with higher colleague and student-generated multiple victimization, respectively. Regarding contextual variables, teachers who reported less administrative support were more likely to report multiple forms of violence by students and colleagues, and teachers working in urban settings reported more student-generated multiple victimization. This study underscores the importance of accounting for individual and contextual factors. Implications for research and practice are discussed.