The Relationship of Guilt and Shame to Mental Health

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  • Arimitsu Kohki
    Department of Psychology, School of Humanities, Kwansei Gakuin University

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  • 罪悪感、恥と精神的健康との関係
  • ザイアクカン ハジ ト セイシンテキ ケンコウ ト ノ カンケイ

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Abstract

The present study examined the relationship between guilt and shame, and their relationship to mental health. Three hundred twenty-nine Japanese university students answered the Situational Guilt Inventory (SGI), the Situational Shyness Questionnaire (SSQ), and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). The Structural Equation Model (SEM) was used to predict mental health from guilt and shame. It indicated that social activity disorders were negatively predicted from ‘shame-free, pure’ guilt and positively predicted from ‘guilt-free, pure’ shame. SEM also revealed that ‘guilt-free, pure’ shame positively predicted anxiety and sleeplessness. It is suggested that guilt has a socially adaptive function. By contrast, maladaptive behaviors result from shame. The relationship between shame and depressive tendencies were limited to men. Sex differences are discussed in terms of the adaptive functions of shame.

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