Culture of Shame

Abstract

Sexual violence is a common experience among women in the United States that can have a number of negative sequalae, including heightened feelings of shame (Feiring & Taska, 2005; Smith et al., 2018). While literature has started to document the effects of shame on some aspects of survivors’ lives (Bhuptani et al., 2019; Kim et al., 2009), less is known about how shame is experienced by survivors in their daily lives. Mexican Americans constitute a notable segment of the U.S. population and are affected by unique contextual factors such as their immigration history, cultural values, religious experiences, and acculturation processes. Yet, there is limited literature examining the experiences of Mexican American survivors of sexual violence. Using Campbell and colleagues’ (2009) ecological model and a mujerista research paradigm (Bryant-Davis & Comas-Díaz, 2016), this study sought to develop a qualitative understanding of the experience of shame among 1.5 and 2nd generation Mexican American women who are survivors of sexual violence, while considering how cultural values and beliefs shape their experience of shame across ecological levels. Twelve 1.5 and 2nd generation Mexican American survivors of sexual violence participated in semi-structured interviews for this qualitative descriptive study. Conventional content analysis of the data yielded eight broad domains: (1) influence of immigration and cultural context on shame; (2) impact of shame on mental health; (3) relational impacts of shame; (4) impact of shame on daily functioning; (5) impact of shame on disclosure; (6) marianismo increased feelings of shame after sexual violence; (7) healing from shame; and, (8) challenges to healing from shame. Results indicate that the effects of shame are pervasive for survivors across multiple areas of their lives (i.e., mental and physical health, relationships, academic and professional lives), religious and cultural messages foster a context of shame for survivors, and survivors’ healing process is shaped by their bicultural context. Limitations and theoretical implications of these findings are discussed, along with implications for culturally responsive clinical practice and future research directions.