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Effects of God Image and Shame on Psychological Functioning

  • Journal of Counseling and Gospel
  • Abbr : Jocag
  • 2013, 20(), pp.94-124
  • DOI : 10.17841/jocag.2013.20..94
  • Publisher : Korean Evangelical Counseling Society
  • Research Area : Humanities > Christian Theology > Pastoral Counseling
  • Received : April 11, 2013
  • Accepted : May 4, 2013

Kim Hwacha 1

1World Mission University

Candidate

ABSTRACT

The purpose of the present study was to examine and compare the relationships among God image, shame, and psychological adjustment experienced among Caucasian and Korean Christian college students. Toward this aim, it was hypothesized that levels of shame may be higher in Korean students than in Caucasian students; however, shame may have less negative effects on the psychological functioning of Koreans compared to that of Caucasians. This study employed a Structural Equation Modeling(SEM) to test hypotheses. Data were collected from October through December in 2008 with Caucasian(138) and Korean(133) college students from private Christian universities in Southern California and South Korea as well as several Korean churches in South Korea. For both samples, the God image as measured by the God Image Scales(GIS) had a direct effect on shame as measured by the Test of Self-Conscious Affect-3 Short Version(TOSCA-3) and the Korean Shame Scales(KSS) as well as psychological distress as measured by the Symptom Check List-90(SCL-90). Shame also had a direct effect on psychological distress. The direct effect of shame on psychological distress was stronger for the Caucasians than the Koreans for the KSS Disgrace; however, the direct effect of shame on psychological distress was not significantly different across cultures for the TOSCA shame-proneness. Consequently, Shame was found to mediate between God image and psychological functioning for both samples.

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