External Shame and Self-Criticism in Married Women: the Mediating Role of Cognitive Fusion and Experiential Avoidance

Self-criticism is one of the psychological impairments with inappropriate consequences for all members of a family, especially women. It is affected by various factors. The present study aimed to assess the mediating role of cognitive fusion and experiential avoidance in the correlation between self-criticism and external shame.

The present research utilized the structural equation modeling. The statistical population included all the married women aged 20 to 60 years in Bandar Abbas, Iran in 2022, out of whom 293 were selected via available sampling. For data collection, self-critical questionnaires (Louise, 2004), external shame questionnaire (Gross et al., 1994), cognitive fusion questionnaire (Gilanders et al., 2014), and experiential avoidance questionnaire (Bund et al., 2011) were used. The data were analyzed using correlation and path analysis methods via SPSS Version 26 and AMOS Version 24.

The results indicated that external shame (P<0.001), cognitive fusion (P<0.001), and experiential avoidance (P<0.001) had a direct, significant, and positive effect on self-criticism. The results of a path analysis revealed that external shame through cognitive fusion (P<0.001) had a significant indirect effect on self-criticism. Furthermore, external shame had a significant indirect effect on self-criticism through experiential avoidance (P<0.001).

The results suggested that psychologists and counselors reduce the psychological impairment threatening the family system by holding educational workshops and performing individual and group therapies.