Betray My Trust, Shame on Me: Shame, Dissociation, Fear, and Betrayal Trauma

Recent research suggests that betrayal is a fundamental dimension of trauma that may be a major factor contributing to posttraumatic distress (Freyd & Birrell, 2013). In the current study using a college student sample of female trauma survivors, (N = 124; 79% Caucasian; mean age = 20.40, SD = 3.60), we examined the contribution of high-and low-betrayal trauma history to shame, dissociation, and fear responses to threat. We hypothesized that (a) overall, shame and dissociation would be higher following interpersonal compared with noninterpersonal threat; (b) high-but not low-betrayal trauma history would predict increased shame and dissociation following interpersonal threat; and (c) low-but not high-betrayal trauma history would predict increased fear following noninterpersonal threat. Hypothesis 1 was not supported. There was no difference in overall shame and dissociation following interpersonal compared with noninterpersonal threat. Hypotheses 2 and 3 were supported. History of high-but not low-betrayal trauma predicted increases in shame (R-2 = .14) and dissociation (R-2 = .23) following interpersonal threat, whereas history of low-but not high-betrayal trauma predicted increases in fear (R-2 = .07) following noninterpersonal threat. These results contribute to growing evidence that perpetrator closeness matters when considering posttraumatic responses. Shame and dissociation warrant more clinical attention as possible barriers to effective exposure therapy among betrayal trauma survivors.