Shame

The purpose of the researcher was to investigate shame. The independent variables were: age, gender, cultural background, religious preference, academic performance, alcohol status, loneliness, and self-esteem. The dependent variable was scores from the Internalized Shame Scale. The sample consisted of 61 males and 107 females. Six null hypothesis were tested employing a three way analysis of variance (general linear model) at the .0500 level. A total of 42 comparisons were made plus 16 recurring. Of the 42 comparisons, 8 were for main effects and 18 were for interactions. Of the 8 main effects, 3 were statistically significant at the .0500 level. The results indicated the following for main effects: 1. College students with high loneliness had significantly more internalized shame than those with less loneliness and those with intermediate loneliness had statistically greater internalized shame than those with low loneliness. 2. College students with low self-esteem had statistically greater internalized shame than those with high self-esteem and those with intermediate self-esteem had statistically greater internalized shame than those with high self-esteem, and 3. College students ages 24-29 had a statistically higher mean internalized shame scale score than those ages 21-23 and ages 30+ years. Of the 18 interactions, 1 was statistically significant at the .0500 level. The statistically significant interaction was for the independent variable age and cultural background for the dependent variable internalized shame. The results of the present study appeared to support the following generalizations: 1. College students with high loneliness have more internalized shame than those with less loneliness and those with intermediate loneliness have greater internalized shame than those with less loneliness, 2. College students with low self-esteem have more internalized shame than those with high self-esteem and those with intermediate self-esteem have more internalized shame than those with high self-esteem, 3. The cultural background of students and student age should be interpreted concurrently for internalized shame, and 4. College students have low internalized shame.