Investigating shame-proneness from the perspectives of attachment and mentalization theories

Shame is a debilitating self-conscious emotion that could be experienced whether in company or alone. A vast body of research links shame-proneness, that is, the propensity to experience shame in the absence of proportionate stimuli, to a whole range of psychopathologies. There is consensus among renowned theorists that shame-proneness has developmental roots. attachment insecurities and mentalizing incapacity, which develop hand in hand in the context of early childhood experiences, are postulated to contribute to shame-proneness. Despite the richness in conceptualizations, we believe there is a lack of evidence in support of the hypothesized associations. In this paper, we aimed to integrate the theoretical and empirical literature associating shame-proneness, attachment styles, and mentalizing capacity, and to provide directions for future studies.