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Historically, much attention has been focused on the role of guilt in psychopathe logy. However, recent theorists have posited that the association between guilt and psychopathology may be better accounted for by shame or by the overlapping features of guilt and shame. The current investigation assessed the relationships of shame-proneness versus guilt-proneness to psychological symptoms, somatization symptoms, attributional style, and concealment (n = 156). The shared variance between shame-proneness and guilt-proneness and the unique component of shame-proneness were related to both psychological and somatization symptoms, whereas the unique component of guilt-proneness was not related to these measures. Further, increased shame-proneness was associated with making depressogenic attributions, whereas guilt-proneness was not. Concealment was found to mediate the relationship between shame-proneness and psychological symptoms. These findings provide further evidence that the association between guilt and symptoms is accounted for by shame. Future research into concealment and other mechanisms by which shame influences symptoms is needed.
A great deal of empirical attention has focused on guilt and its association with a range of psychological symptomatology, including depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD; e.g., Henning & Frueh, 1997, Kubany et al., 1995; Kubany et al., 1996; Fontana, Rosenheck, & Brett, 1992). Indeed, these associations have been so firmly established that the DSM-IV defines guilt as a symptom of depression and an associated feature of PTSD (APA, 1994). However, recent research suggests that the associations between guilt and psychological symptomatology might be due to the common factor shared by guilt and shame, rather than guilt per se (e.g., Tangney, Wagner, & Gramzow, 1992). This article investigates the differential relationships of shame-proneness and guilt-proneness to psychological and stress-related physical health (i.e., somatization) symptoms.
Based on Lewis's (1971 ) conceptualization of the distinctions of shame and guilt, Tangney and colleagues (Tangney et al., 1992; Tangney, Burggraf, & Wagner, 1995) suggest that while both guilt and shame involve negative affective reactions and negative self-evaluations, the focus and scope of these reactions differ. A guilt reaction focuses on a specific behavior or transgression. This behavior is evaluated negatively and is often associated with feelings of tension, remorse, regret over bad things that were done, and a desire to make reparations. In contrast, a shame reaction focuses on scrutinizing and criticizing the entire...