The Effect of Internalized Shame on Loneliness of University Students: The Exploration of path model among Self-Criticism and The Fear of Compassion

Objectives The purposes of this study were to examine the mediated effect and pathway of self-criticism and the fear of compassion in the relationship of internalized shame on loneliness of university students. Methods To this end, 340 university students and graduate students aged 18 to 30 years old completed self-re-ported questionnaires consisting of Internalized Shame Scale(ISS), Self-Critical Cognition Scale(SCCS), The Korean version of the Fear of Compassion Scales, The UCLA Loneliness Scale Version 3. Based on the collected data, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and double mediation effects were analyzed using SPSS 23.0 and PROCESS Macro ver 3.5 program. Results First, there are positive correlations among internalized shame, loneliness, self-criticism and the fear of compassion. Second, the direct path for loneliness from internalized shame, self-criticism and the fear of com-passion from others was significant. but, the direct path for loneliness from fear of compassion for self was not significant. Third, in the pathway in which internalized shame affects loneliness, the sequential partial dual media-tion pathway of the fear of compassion from others and self-criticism was confirmed. Conclusions Finally, based on these results, the implications and limitations of this study and suggestions for the further research were discussed.