the mediating role of internalized shame in the relationship between childhood trauma and unstable self-esteem in individuals seeking cosmetic surgery

Purpose: the aim of this study was to test a structural model of unstable self-esteem based on childhood trauma, considering the mediating role of internalized shame among individuals seeking cosmetic surgery.methods and materials: this research was fundamental and quantitative in nature, employing a descriptive correlational and structural equation modeling approach. the study population consisted of all individuals seeking cosmetic surgery who were residing in tehran and visiting cosmetic clinics during 2023-2024. from this population, a sample of 304 individuals who voluntarily agreed to participate was selected using convenience sampling. the study utilized the bernstein childhood trauma questionnaire (2003), the unstable self-esteem scale by chabrol, rousseau, and callahan (2006), and the internalized shame scale by cook (1993) for data collection. data analysis was conducted using a correlation matrix and structural equation modeling.findings: the results of data analysis indicated that the indices of the proposed model had an acceptable fit. the path from childhood trauma to unstable self-esteem (β = 0.118, p = 0.035), the path from childhood trauma to internalized shame (β = 0.641, p = 0.001), and the path from internalized shame to unstable self-esteem (β = 0.569, p = 0.000) were significant. additionally, the mediating role of internalized shame (β = 0.365, p = 0.001) was confirmed at the 95% confidence level.conclusion: childhood trauma directly and indirectly, through internalized shame, affects unstable self-esteem in individuals seeking cosmetic surgery.