Though there is a growing body of research concerning the impact that shame experiences can have on an individual, there is a paucity of research about what variables may mediate the relationship between central, shameful memories and resulting self-harming behavior. The purpose of this study was to explore fears of compassion as a possible mediator between shame memories and individuals' tendency to engage in risky sexual behavior, with an emphasis upon LGBT individuals, who on average are more likely to experience shaming experiences than non LGBT individuals. I predicted that fears of compassion would significantly strengthen the correlation between central shame memories and risky sexual behavior. Although the hypothesized relationships were observed, results revealed that there was no significant relationship between shame and risky sexual behavior.
","abstract_html":"<p>Though there is a growing body of research concerning the impact that shame experiences can have on an individual, there is a paucity of research about what variables may mediate the relationship between central, shameful memories and resulting self-harming behavior. The purpose of this study was to explore fears of compassion as a possible mediator between shame memories and individuals' tendency to engage in risky sexual behavior, with an emphasis upon LGBT individuals, who on average are more likely to experience shaming experiences than non LGBT individuals. I predicted that fears of compassion would significantly strengthen the correlation between central shame memories and risky sexual behavior. Although the hypothesized relationships were observed, results revealed that there was no significant relationship between shame and risky sexual behavior.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Johnson, Elijah N."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS) in Psychology: Clinical","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2016,"date_issued":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2016-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:13:29Z","subjects":["Sexual minorities--Sexual behavior","Lesbians--Sexual behavior","Gays--Sexual behavior","Bisexuals--Sexual behavior","Transgender people--Sexual behavior","Risk-taking (Psychology)","Shame","Compassion","Experimental Analysis of Behavior","Other Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":["Access is available to all users"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dc.ewu.edu/theses/398","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Johnson, Elijah N."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS) in Psychology: Clinical"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Sexual minorities--Sexual behavior","Lesbians--Sexual behavior","Gays--Sexual behavior","Bisexuals--Sexual behavior","Transgender people--Sexual behavior","Risk-taking (Psychology)","Shame","Compassion","Experimental Analysis of Behavior","Other Psychology"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Access is available to all users"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dc.ewu.edu/theses/398"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Though there is a growing body of research concerning the impact that shame experiences can have on an individual, there is a paucity of research about what variables may mediate the relationship between central, shameful memories and resulting self-harming behavior. The purpose of this study was to explore fears of compassion as a possible mediator between shame memories and individuals' tendency to engage in risky sexual behavior, with an emphasis upon LGBT individuals, who on average are more likely to experience shaming experiences than non LGBT individuals. I predicted that fears of compassion would significantly strengthen the correlation between central shame memories and risky sexual behavior. Although the hypothesized relationships were observed, results revealed that there was no significant relationship between shame and risky sexual behavior.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Sexual risk taking among young LGBT individuals: examining the interplay between shame memories and fears of compassion"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Johnson, Elijah N."],"dc:description.abstract":["Though there is a growing body of research concerning the impact that shame experiences can have on an individual, there is a paucity of research about what variables may mediate the relationship between central, shameful memories and resulting self-harming behavior. The purpose of this study was to explore fears of compassion as a possible mediator between shame memories and individuals' tendency to engage in risky sexual behavior, with an emphasis upon LGBT individuals, who on average are more likely to experience shaming experiences than non LGBT individuals. I predicted that fears of compassion would significantly strengthen the correlation between central shame memories and risky sexual behavior. Although the hypothesized relationships were observed, results revealed that there was no significant relationship between shame and risky sexual behavior.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dc.ewu.edu/theses/398"],"dc:rights":["Access is available to all users"],"dc:subject":["Sexual minorities--Sexual behavior","Lesbians--Sexual behavior","Gays--Sexual behavior","Bisexuals--Sexual behavior","Transgender people--Sexual behavior","Risk-taking (Psychology)","Shame","Compassion","Experimental Analysis of Behavior","Other Psychology"],"dc:title":["Sexual risk taking among young LGBT individuals: examining the interplay between shame memories and fears of compassion"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS) in Psychology: Clinical"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:13:29Z"}