The Relationship Between Adults’ Sexual Shame And Negative Body Awareness And Its Influencing Factors

Sexual shame refers to an individual’s feelings of shame about his or her sexual experiences,thoughts,or actions,and the belief that he or she is sexually flawed or unacceptable.Although sexual shame,which is rooted in Chinese traditional sexual culture and shame culture,exists in individuals generally is a common emotional experience,it often presented in a non–academic manner,and there is a lack of professional research and discussion in psychology.Because in Chinese social culture,sex is always regarded as a taboo to avoid talking about and is always accompanied by a sense of shame.For the moment,although sexual shame is hidden in Chinese culture,it has to be admitted that sexual shame has profound effects on individuals’ life,such as being associated with weak interpersonal skills and low satisfaction in intimate relationships,and affecting individuals’ mental health,etc.At present,the existing foreign studies generally regard sexual shame as a predictor or intermediary psychological process of negative emotions or negative sex-related events.However,the literature on sexual shame as a direct research object and in-depth exploration of its influencing factors is extremely limited.At the same time,the research on sexual shame under the background of Chinese culture is lacking.Therefore,this study took Chinese adults as research objects,through the combination of quantitative research and qualitative research,to conduct an in-depth discussion on the measurement of sexual shame and its influencing factors.On the one hand,it provides a practical tool for the measurement of sexual shame,and on the other hand,it describes the status quo of sexual shame and its relationships with important relevant variables.The Kely Inventory of Sexual Shame in study 1,one of the most widely used tools to measure sexual shame,was tested in the context of Chinese culture.After collecting 1259 questionnaire data on the network,item analysis,exploratory factor analysis,confirmatory factor analysis,criteria validity analysis and reliability analysis were carried out for the scale.Based on study 1,Study 2 used the tested Chinese version of Kely Inventory of Sexual Shame to explore whether and how negative body awareness,sexual shyness and Mianzi affected sexual shame,and whether sexual shyness and Mianzi mediated between the relationship of negative body awareness and sexual shame.In Study 3,qualitative research was used.Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 Chinese adults,hoping to explore the understanding of sexual shame under Chinese background from a profound and three-dimensional perspective,as well as what other factors can affect sexual shame and what influence it will bring.Main research results and conclusions:(1)The tested Kely Inventory of Sexual Shame has 9 questions,and the reliability and validity of the scale met the basic requirements of psychometrics,which means it is suitable for the measurement of sexual shame of Chinese adults.(2)Sexual shame was significantly positively correlated with moral disapproval of pornography materials and negative components of self-forgiveness,while significantly negatively correlated with positive components of self-forgiveness.(3)Sexual shame was significantly positively correlated with negative body awareness and fear of losing Mianzi,and significantly negatively correlated with sexual shyness.(4)Sexual shyness and fear of losing Mianzi were serial mediators between negative body awareness and sexual shame.(5)There were similarities and differences between sexual shame in China and foreign countries.Other possible influencing factors of sexual shame included family sexual communication,sex education,culture and media,sexual victimization experiences,non-traditional sexual behaviors and the exposure of private body parts.(6)Sexual shame may influence individuals’ sexual avoidance behaviors,affect their self-evaluation,and cause difficulties in interpersonal and romantic relationships.To sum up,this study took Chinese adults as the research objects for the first time through the combination of quantitative and qualitative in-depth research methods,and explored the measurement and important influencing factors of sexual shame such as negative body awareness.It has important theoretical and practical significance for the future theoretical research of sexual shame and sex education in China.