Emotional Abuse in Childhood and Social Anxiety Symptoms in Adulthood: Examining the Role of Self-Compassion

Background:
Childhood emotional abuse has been consistently linked to internalizing difficulties, including social anxiety; however, findings regarding its relative contribution compared to other forms of maltreatment have been mixed. Moreover, little is known about the psychological processes that may account for this association.

Objective:
The present study aimed (a) to re-examine the association between childhood emotional abuse and adult social anxiety while accounting for co-occurring forms of maltreatment, and (b) to explore whether self-compassion is indirectly associated with this relationship.

Participants:
A total of 143 adults aged 18–46 years (M = 23.26, SD = 2.90; 79.0% female) completed self-report online measures assessing childhood maltreatment, self-compassion, and social anxiety symptoms.

Results:
Hierarchical multiple regression was used to examine the relative contribution of emotional abuse to social anxiety after controlling for other maltreatment types. Indirect effects were tested using PROCESS Model 4. Emotional abuse emerged as the strongest predictor of social anxiety symptoms, accounting for unique variance beyond other forms of childhood maltreatment (β = .32, p < .001). Lower self-compassion was statistically associated with both greater emotional abuse exposure and higher social anxiety, yielding a significant indirect effect (indirect effect = .12, SE = .05, 95% CI [.04, .25]).

Conclusions:
Findings highlight the salience of childhood emotional abuse potentially reflecting chronic interpersonal invalidation in relation to adult social anxiety. Results suggest that self-compassion may represent a clinically relevant target for interventions aimed at individuals with histories of emotional abuse.