Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Shame and its psychopathologic correlates in two women’s health problems: Binge eating disorder and vulvodynia

  • Original Research Paper
  • Published:
Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Shame is thought to be a ubiquitous and destructive psychological process associated with psychiatric and medical conditions. This study examined its nature in two contrasting health problems that influence women’s self-evaluations of their bodies and attractiveness, namely an eating disorder (a psychiatric disorder with medical implications) or vulvodynia (i.e., vulvar pain; a newly identified medical condition with psychiatric implications). A community sample of adult women without medical conditions served as an additional comparison group. Participants were 203 adult females: 72 with DSM-IV-defined Binge Eating Disorder (BED), 57 with vulvodynia, and 74 non-patient controls. The three study groups differed significantly: the BED group reported greater shame than the vulvodynia group, and the BED and vulvodynia groups reported greater shame than the control group. Higher levels of shame were associated with higher levels of symptomatic functioning within each group.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Tangney J.P., Wagner P., Gramzow R.: Proneness to shame, proneness to guilt, and psychopathology. J. Abnorm. Psychol., 101, 469–478, 1992.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Sanftner J.L., Barlow D.H., Marschall D.E., Tangney J.P.: The relation of shame and guilt to eating disorder symptomatology. J. Social Clin. Psychol., 14, 315–324, 1995.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Johnson C., Larson R.: Bulimia: An analysis of moods and behavior. Psychosom. Med., 44, 341–351, 1982.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Silberstein L.R., Striegel-Moore R.H., Rodin J.: Feeling fat: A woman’s shame. In: Lewis H.B. (Ed.) The role of shame in symptom formation. Hillsdale, NJ, Erlbaum, 1987, pp. 89–108.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Lingswiler V.M., Crowther J.H., Stephens M.A.P.: Emotional and somatic consequences of binge episodes. Addict. Behav., 14, 503–511, 1989.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Frank E.S.: Shame and guilt in eating disorders. Am. J. Orthopsychiatry, 61, 303–306, 1991.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Rodin J., Silberstein L.R., Striegel-Moore R.: Women and weight: A normative discontent. In: Sonderegger T.B. (Ed.) Psychology and gender: Nebraska symposium on motivation. Vol. 32 psychology and gender. Lincoln, University of Nebraska Press, 1984, pp. 267–307.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Sanftner J.L., Crowther J.H.: Variability in self-esteem, moods, shame, and guilt in women who binge. Int. J. Eating Disord., 23, 391–397, 1998.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. American Psychiatric Association: Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, ed. 4. Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Association, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Grilo C.M., Devlin M.J., Cachelin F.M., Yanovski S.Z.: Report of the NIH workshop on the development of research priorities in eating disorders. Psychopharmacol. Bull., 33, 321–333, 1997.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. NIH: Vulvodynia — Systematic, Epidemiologic, Etiologic, or Therapeutic Studies, NIH RFA PA-98-112. Bethesda, MD, NIH, 1998, September.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Allison D.B.: A note on the selection of control groups and control variables in comor-bidity research. Compr. Psychiatry, 34, 336–339, 1993.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Fairburn C.G., Doll H.A., Welch S.L., Hay P.J., Davies B.A., O’Connor M.E.: Risk factors for binge eating disorder: A community-based, case-control study. Arch. Gen. Psychiatry, 55, 425–432, 1998.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Spira J.: Group therapy for the medically ill. New York, Guilford Press, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Grilo C.M., Wilfley D.E., Jones A., Brownell K.D., Rodin J.: The social self, body dissatisfaction, and binge eating in obese females. Obes. Res., 2, 24–27, 1994.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Akan G.E., Grilo C.M.: Sociocultural influences on eating attitudes and behaviors, body image, and psychological functioning: A comparison of African-American, Asian American, and Caucasian college women. Int. J. Eating Disord., 18, 181–187, 1995.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Barofsky I., Fontaine K.R., Cheskin L.J.: Pain in the obese: Impact on health-related quality-of-life. Ann. Behav. Med., 19, 1–2, 1997.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Grilo C.M.: The assessment and treatment of binge eating disorder. J. Practical Psychiatry Behav. Health, 4, 1–11, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Masheb R.M.: Psychosocial functioning in women with vulvodynia. Diss. Abs. Int., 58, 4567, 1997 (University Microfilms No. 98-09057).

    Google Scholar 

  20. First M.B., Gibbon M., Spitzer R.L., Williams J.B.W.: Users guide for the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis 1 Disorders — Research Version — (SCID-1, Version 2.0, February 1996 FINAL Version). NY, Biometrics Research, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Fairburn C.G., Beglin S.J.: Assessment of eating disorders: Interview or self-report questionnaire? Int. J. Eating Disord., 16, 363–370, 1994.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Yanovski S.Z.: Binge eating disorder: Current knowledge and future directions. Obes. Res., 1, 306–324, 1993.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Burning vulva syndrome: Report of the ISSVD task force. J. Reprod. Med., 29, 457, 1984.

    Google Scholar 

  24. McKay M.: Subsets of Vulvodynia. J. Reprod. Med., 33, 695–698, 1988.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Cook D.R.: The internalized shame scale manual. Menomonie, WI, Channel Press, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Fairburn C.G., Wilson G.T.: Binge eating: Nature, assessment, and treatment. New York, Guilford Press, 1993.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Fairburn C.G., Cooper Z.: The schedule of the Eating Disorder Examination. In: Fairburn C.G., Wilson G.T. (Eds.) Binge eating: Nature, assessment, and treatment. New York, Guilford Press, 1993, pp. 51–84.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Wilfley D.E., Schwartz M.B., Spurrell E.B., Fairburn C.G.: Assessing the specific psychopathology of binge eating disorder patients: Interview or self-report? Behav. Res. Ther., 15, 1151–1159, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  29. Cooper P.J., Taylor M.J., Cooper Z., Fairburn C.G.: The development and validation of the Body Shape Questionnaire. Int. J. Eating Disord., 6, 485–494, 1987.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Ware J.E., Sherbourne C.D.: The MOS 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36): I. Conceptual framework and item selection. Med. Care, 30, 473–483, 1992.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Brazier J.E., Harper R., Jones N.M.B., O’Cathain A., Thomas K.J., Userwood T., Westlake L.: Validating the SF-36 health survey questionnaire: New outcome measure for primary care. B.M.J., 305, 160–164, 1992.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Garratt A.M., Ruta D.A., Abdalla M.I., Buckingham J.K., Russell I.T.: The SF-36 health survey questionnaire: An outcome measure suitable for routine use within the NHS? B.M.J., 306, 1440–1444, 1993.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. McHorney C.A., Ware J.E., Lu J.F.R., Sherbourne C.D.: The MOS 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36): III. Tests of data quality, scaling assumptions, and reliability across diverse patient groups. Med. Care, 32, 40–66, 1994.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. McHorney C.A., Ware J.E., Raczek A.E.: The MOS 36-item short-form health survey (SF-36): II. Psychometric and clinical tests of validity in measuring physical and mental health constructs. Med. Care, 31, 247–263, 1993.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Jenkinson C., Coulter A., Wright L.: Short form 36 (SF 36) health survey questionnaire: Normative data for adults of working age. B.M.J., 306, 1437–1440, 1993.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. McHorney C.A., Kosinski M., Ware J.E.: Comparisons of the costs and quality of norms for the SF-36 health survey collected by mail versus telephone interview. Results from a national survey. Med. Care, 32, 551–567, 1994.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Kerns R.D., Turk D.C., Rudy T.E.: The West Haven-Yale multidimensional pain inventory (VHYMPI). Pain, 23, 345–356, 1985.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Yale Psychiatric Institute and Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA

    Robin M. Masheb Ph.D. & C. M. Grilo

  2. Department of Psychology, St. John’s University, New York, NY, USA

    E. Brondolo

Authors
  1. Robin M. Masheb Ph.D.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. C. M. Grilo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. E. Brondolo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Masheb, R.M., Grilo, C.M. & Brondolo, E. Shame and its psychopathologic correlates in two women’s health problems: Binge eating disorder and vulvodynia. Eat Weight Disord 4, 187–193 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03339735

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03339735

Key words

Search

Navigation