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Various psychological factors have been found to be associated with the onset of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD). Despite this, there remains a lack of acceptance for a biopsychosocial model of intervention, specifically targeted to the prevention and treatment of IBD. The aim of this study was to assess the predictive relationships between guilt-proneness, shame-proneness, externalization of blame and IBD. The study employed a quasi-experimental study design. The Short-Form-Test-of-Self-Conscious-Affect (TOSCA-3) was administered to 128 IBD patients and 129 controls without IBD. Independent t-tests revealed significant differences in shame-proneness and guilt-proneness between IBD patients and controls. In addition, a binary logistic regression analysis revealed that the odds of having IBD were significantly higher for individuals with high shame-proneness, high guilt-proneness and low levels of externalization of blame. The findings highlight the significance of guilt and shame-proneness as risk factors for IBD, and of externalization of blame as a protective factor, through the reduction of shame-proneness. Psychological interventions aimed at the reduction of guilt and shame-proneness could potentially attenuate illness expression of IBD.
Keywords: inflammatory bowel disease, guilt, shame, self-conscious emotions, psychological adaptation
Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) affects over 2.5 million people in Europe and 28 million people worldwide, and its occurrence continues to grow (Kaplan, 2015; Schoultz et al., 2013), now even affecting populations where it was unknown until several decades ago (Dutta & Chacko, 2016; Lakhan & Kirchgessner, 2010; Wen & Fiocchi, 2004). Despite years of research, there remains much debate regarding the aetiology of IBD (Lakhan & Kirchgessner, 2010). Since there is no single known cause of the disease, the current approach to the treatment of IBD addresses mainly the symptoms, rather than the causes (Wen & Fiocchi, 2004). Current management strategies are largely targeted towards achieving and maintaining remission, by relying on a lifelong prescription of anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive medications, and surgery (Nielsen, 2014; Petryszyn & Witczak, 2016). This approach is not effective for all patients, and relapses are common (Nielsen, 2014; Petryszyn & Witczak, 2016; Sajadinejad et al., 2012).
Research on the aetiology of IBD has revealed a variety of biological, environmental, and psychological factors which contribute to its onset (Lakhan & Kirchgessner, 2010; Levenstein, 2003; Sajadinejad et al., 2012). The biomedical approach to the treatment of IBD focuses on the biological,...
