The Indirect Effect of Childhood Sexual Abuse on Depression, Mediated by Sexual Shame and Shame-Proneness, Conditional on God Image

Considering the damaging effects of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on survivors' mental health, the purpose of this study was to investigate the role of shame-proneness and sexual shame in the long-term psychological effects of CSA. Shame has been implicated as a post-trauma response and key factor in long-term outcomes. As CSA is sexual in nature, this study examined the pathways from CSA to depression via both shame-proneness and sexual shame, as well as the moderating role of view of God. Cross-sectional data was collected through online surveys from adults who reported believing in God (<i>N</i> = 1055). Analyses consisted of a parallel mediation model and a series of moderated mediation models. Findings supported significant indirect effects of CSA on depression through separate pathways of sexual shame and shame-proneness, which explained 62.8% of the variance in depression. Surprisingly, for believers, perceiving God as loving strengthened the effect of CSA on sexual shame, which subsequently corresponded to increases in depression. These findings have critical implications for working with CSA survivors, denoting the relevance of both shame-proneness and sexual shame as key pathways to psychopathology, which may be exacerbated by certain views of God.