Proneness to shame, proneness to guilt, and psychopathology.
The links between shame and guilt and psychopathology were examined. In 2 studies, 245 and 234 undergraduates completed the Self-Conscious Affect and Attribution Inventory, the Symptom Checklist 90, the Beck Depression Inventory, the State-Trait Anxiety Scale, and the Attributional Style Questionnaire. Results failed to support Lewis's (1971) notion that shame and guilt are differentially related to unique symptom clusters. Shame-proneness was strongly related to psychological maladjustment in general. Guilt-proneness was only moderately related to psychopathology; correlations were ascribable entirely to the shared variance between shame and guilt. Although clearly related to a depressogenic attributional style, shame accounted for substantial variance in depression, above and beyond attributional style.
Tangney
J P
JP
Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia 22030.
Wagner
P
P
Gramzow
R
R
D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D003863:Depression / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006167:Guilt; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012307:Risk Factors; D012752:Shame