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PubMed2002

Psychological and emotional development, intellectual capabilities, and body image in short normal children.

It is well established that children with short stature frequently have problems in cognitive development, personality, self-esteem and social relations. This is partly due to the fact that many parents view them as more vulnerable than other children of normal stature and do not allow them to face the normal experiences that correspond to their actual age. The aim of the present study was to assess, through the administration of appropriate psychological tools, a series of psychological and cognitive characteristics [i.e. anxiety, depression, good adjustment, social functioning, feeling of guilt, interpersonal relationship, intelligence quotient (IQ)], as well as variables linked to development of body image, in a group of children suffering from normal growth variants [familial short stature (FSS), no. 10, 4 males/6 females; with constitutional growth delay (CGD), no. 4,4 males; height standard deviation score (HSDS) ranging between -2.4 and -1.9] and in a control group children of normal stature (HSDS between -0.1 and +0.1). Children with short stature significantly differed from normal statured controls as far as Colored Progressive Matrices (CPMs, centiles), IQ (IQ, obtained using the Goodenough test), "Good Adjustment" (Draw-a-Person index, DAP), "Feelings of Guilt" (DAP index), "Height" (as emerges from drawings of the body) are concerned. Significant relationships were found between the height of the subjects (in centiles) and cognitive skills, measured both using CPMs (r=0.408; p=0.017) and Draw-a-Man (DAM) (r=0.359; p=0.037) and between height and feelings of guilt (r=0.325; p=0.027), measured using DAP. CPM scores correlated positively with the "Good Adjustment" index of DAP (r=0.354; p=0.05) and negatively with Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) (r=-0.609; p=0.01), "School Anxiety" index (r=-0.427; p=0.05) and "Total Anxiety" index (r=-0.436; p=0.05) of the Anxiety Scale Questionnaire for the Age of Development, and with 2 indices of DAP, namely, "Feelings of Guilt" (r=-0.461; p=0.01) and "Interpersonal Relationships (Difficulty in Establishing)" (r=-0.455; p=0.01). A significant positive correlation was found between the height of the subject and both the measurement of the "Body of Drawing 3" (r=0.450, p=0.01) and the measurement of the "Body of Drawing 4" (r=0.461, p=0.01), as well as the with the "Total Height of Drawing 4" (r=0.464, p=0.01). Higher indices for anxiety, depression, feelings of guilt and difficulty in establishing interpersonal relationships and lower indices for good adjustment were found in children with CGD as compared to subjects with FSS or normal statured children. Although further additional studies on larger samples are needed to confirm these preliminary observations, the present study underlines the importance of psychological support also during the growth and development in short normal children.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2006

Chocolate craving among children: implications for disordered eating patterns.

The aim was to test the validity of a multidimensional model of chocolate craving among children, and to examine if the dimensions underlying the model predict consumption and eating disordered symptoms. Participants were 602 children (53% female) aged 11, 12, and 13 from 11 schools in Western Australia. Measures included the Orientation to Chocolate Questionnaire (OCQ) designed to assess three components of chocolate craving (approach, avoidance, and guilt), questions assessing body image dissatisfaction and dieting, and body mass index (BMI). Using structural equation modeling, results confirmed that chocolate craving among children is best conceptualized as a three-factor model (approach, avoidance, guilt). The underlying dimensions were differentially associated with self-reported chocolate consumption and indicators of disordered eating patterns. After controlling for BMI and gender, chocolate-related guilt was strongly associated with greater body dissatisfaction and dieting, and avoidance inclinations were also associated with dieting. Chocolate-related guilt was higher in girls than in boys. Results suggest that children experience chocolate craving as a multidimensional phenomenon reflecting some ambivalence. A gender difference in chocolate-related guilt appears to emerge in childhood, potentially contributing to a greater risk for girls to develop exaggerated concerns about body shape and weight.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2002

Shame and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Guilt about surviving a traumatic event is thought to be an associated feature of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Shame is an emotion closely related to guilt but is a distinct affective state. Little is known regarding the role of shame in PTSD and there are no studies of PTSD where shame and guilt are examined simultaneously. We used a measure of shame- and guilt-proneness in 107 community residing former prisoner of war veterans all of whom had been exposed to trauma. The measure of shame-proneness was positively correlated with PTSD symptom severity whereas guilt-proneness was not. This study provides the first empirical data regarding a possible role for shame in PTSD and may have important therapeutic and theoretical implications.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1987

Social stereotypes and information-processing strategies: the impact of task complexity.

Subjects read information about a defendant in a criminal trial with initial instructions to judge either his guilt (guilt judgment objective) or his aggressiveness (trait judgment objective). The defendant was either Hispanic or ethnically nondescript. After considering the evidence, subjects made both guilt and aggressiveness judgments (regardless of which type of judgment they were instructed to make at the time they read the information) and then recalled as much of the information they read as they could. Results favored the hypothesis that when subjects face a complex judgmental situation, they use stereotypes (when available and relevant) as a way of simplifying the judgment. Specifically, they use the stereotype as a central theme around which they organize presented evidence that is consistent with it, and they neglect inconsistent information. Subjects with a (complex) guilt judgment objective judged the defendant to be relatively more guilty and aggressive and recalled more negative information about him if he was Hispanic than if he was ethnically nondescript. In contrast, subjects with a (simple) trait judgment objective did not perceive either the guilt or aggressiveness of the two defendants to be appreciably different, and did not display any significant bias in their recall of the evidence. These and other results are discussed in terms of the information-processing strategies subjects are likely to use when they expect to make different types of judgments.

Aggression↗

PubMed1991

Moral affect: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The relations among 3 moral affective personality characteristics--shame-proneness, guilt-proneness, and empathic responsiveness--were examined in 4 independent studies of undergraduates. Results indicate that shame and guilt are distinct affective experiences that have important and quite different implications in the interpersonal realm. There was a substantial positive correlation between shame-proneness and guilt-proneness. Nonetheless, as predicted, other-oriented empathic responsiveness was negatively related to proneness to shame but positively correlated with proneness to guilt. In contrast, an index of more self-oriented personal distress was positively linked to shame-proneness. Taken together, these results add a new dimension to the ugliness of shame but suggest that guilt may not be that bad after all, at least in the interpersonal domain.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Measurement of emotional adjustment in diabetic patients: validity and reliability of ATT39.

The ATT39 scale was developed as a norm-referenced measure of emotional adjustment in diabetic patients. Scores on three parallel forms of the parent scale changed in response to educational intervention, and the change in scores was predictive of subsequent improvement in metabolic control. We describe further reliability and validity studies with six factorially derived subscales of the ATT39, which measured perceived levels of stress, adaptation, guilt, alienation, illness conviction, and tolerance for ambiguity. Internal consistency (Cronbach alpha) of the unweighted total score was 0.78, and the Guttman lower bound estimate of reliability was 0.86. The test-retest reliability of the total score varied from 0.70 to 0.87, over intervals of 2 wk, 3 mo, and 6 mo, and reliability coefficients for the six factor scores averaged 0.56. ATT39 factor scores, in 134 insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and 166 non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) patients, were correlated with scores on the Cattell 16 personality factor questionnaire and the locus of control of behavior scale (LCB). In IDDM, age was related to better adaptation, increased feelings of guilt, and a more cooperative attitude to staff and treatment. In NIDDM, age was associated with increasing resignation to a conviction of chronic illness and less tolerance for the ambiguities involved in diabetes. Intelligence was correlated with less guilt and more tolerance. Anxiety was associated with significant diabetes-related stress, regardless of treatment, and with poorer adaptation and guilt in NIDDM. An external LCB was related to increased stress and guilt. The results confirm that emotional adjustment in diabetes involves dynamic interactions among feelings that are relatively stable over periods up to 6 mo and that relate meaningfully to other aspects of personality functioning.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2000

[The moral conscience in the depressive patient].

The two fundamental forms of the depressive guilt are the feeling of guilt and the delusion of guilt. Both phenomena emanate from a conscience distorted because of the depressive mood by means of an holothymic and catathymic mechanism. Also the other three dimensions of depression (anergy, discommunication and rhythmopathy) take part in producing this moral distortion. The appearance of the depressive guilt happens only when these two factors are present: a previous personality with a great spiritual development and a complete or tetradimensional depression. Shame and distrust replace the guilt in the asiatic and african countries.

Conscience↗

PubMed1989

Shame as an impetus to the creation of conscience.

Shame 'absorbed by' guilt is an issue that was flagged for consideration by Erikson. The most compelling reason for using guilt to obscure shame is that guilt is associated with a sense of the self as strong, though burdened and culpable, whereas shame brings with it a painful sense of vulnerability. Erikson described the way in which compulsive ordering-about of the self allows a child to feel less helpless and less vulnerable to the shame affect. In instituting this type of self-directive behaviour, the child is developing conscience. The irony of this type of self-manipulation is that ultimately the child, or adult, finds himself again burdened by impotence, though it is the impotence of guilt rather than that of shame. The topic of shame yielding to guilt is of interest in part because it demonstrates the highly interactive relationship between narcissistic concerns and superego responses to impulse-expression, and the role of such interactions in the formation of psychological structures.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1986

[Behavior of delinquents in social conflict situations. A study using the Rosenzweig Picture-Frustration Test (PFT)].

35 delinquents with chronic dissocial developments and 35 neurotics (of equal sex and age) have been investigated with the Rosenzweig Picture Frustration Test (PFT). The results show a number of significant differences: The dissocial personalities are characterized by a denial of their strong latent guilt-feelings. They experience frustrations generally as a blame and try to remove the unbearable conflicts as soon as possible, especially by developing great activity. A modification of the evaluation of the PFT (differentiation between ego- and super-ego-blocking items) leads to the result that only the test-situations where the subjects are confronted with own fault and blame (super-ego-blocking) show clear differences between neurotics and delinquents. Clusteranalysis with super-ego-reactions to super-ego-blocking items show a great homogenity of the delinquent subjects. The other clusteranalyses lead to 2 subgroups which are interpreted as 2 ways of the delinquents to handle their strong latent guilt-feelings: the subjects of one subgroup show a defiant denial of guilt-feelings with a latent passive resignation; the subjects of the other subgroup emphasize the guilt-feelings, but are unable to take full responsibility, and they show a strong tendency to become active in order to get rid of the guilt-feelings.

Adult↗

PubMed1995

[A psychopathological study of hypochondriacal symptoms in manic-depressive psychosis].

Depressive patients often have some hypochondriacal symptoms, but their various patterns are prone to be overlooked. The author presents statistical characteristics of 24 depressive patients (based on DSM-III-R, major depression, melancholic type), who have some hypochondriacal symptoms. Taking into consideration these statistical characteristics and a detailed analysis of representative cases, the author proposes a psychopathological perspective and classification of patients, who have hypochondriacal symptoms during manic-depressive psychosis. The author presents five characteristics, namely, (1) age during depression, (2) personality trait, (3) anxiety-agitation, (4) dependency, and (5) guilt feelings, as factors that raise the hypochondriacal symptoms in depressive patients. Based on such characteristics, depressive patients with hypochondriacal symptoms can be classified into 3 subgroups; the anxiety-agitation group, the dependency group and the guilt feeling group. Among the anxiety-agitation group hypochondriacal depression is considered as a mixed state of manic-depressive psychosis with the grandiosity of hypochondriacal idea and agitation as manic expressions. In personal relations, patients in the anxiety-agitation group are ego-centric ("eigenwelt-bezogen"). On the contrary, patients in the dependency group are often conscious of others, and their hypochondriacal symptoms mean an escape from reality and also the intention of a new personal relationship. In the guilt feeling group, hypochondriacal symptoms arise due to guilt obsessiveness. A difference in the 3 groups also appears in the discourse characteristics of the hypochondriacal symptoms. The discourse of patients in the anxiety-agitation group can be called a "Circle type" or "Go-round type", since their complaints are various, but have a common structure. Discourse in guilt feeling group can be characterized as a "Tied-up type" or "Standstill type", since they repeat only a fixed complaint in a depressive state. Discourse in dependency group does not have a regular linguistic structure, and the patients make a great deal of importance in complaining to others. In addition to such considerations, the author suggests an affinity between hypochondriacal symptoms and manic elements on the grounds that some patients have hypochondriacal symptoms in their manic state, and that depressive patients with hypochondriacal symptoms, especially in the anxiety-agitation group, as well as manic patients, are strongly concerned with the present. Treatment for hypochondriacal depression requires the therapist to recognize the individuality of the disease, to safeguard against suicide and other ramifications.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Medical assessment and legal outcome in child sexual abuse.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship of behavioral symptoms, interview disclosures, and physical examination findings with changing legal outcomes in child sexual abuse. DESIGN: Retrospective case series. SETTING: Hospital- and community-based multidisciplinary child abuse evaluation teams in the same county in 2 periods. PATIENTS: Children ages 0 to 17 years referred for evaluation of sexual abuse. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Substantiation by child protective services, issuance of a warrant by law enforcement authorities, and criminal penalties were compared with reported changes in behavior, disclosure by the child, and physical evidence on examination. RESULTS: Among 497 children evaluated in 1991-1992 and 1995-1996, those with a positive examination finding were 2.5 times more likely to result in a criminal prosecution with a finding of perpetrator guilt (P<.001). Similar rates of disclosure, positive examination findings, child protective services substantiation, and warrant issuance were noted in the 2 periods. Decreasing rates of guilt determination and increasing criminal penalties were identified in 1995-1996 (P<.002). Disclosure of child sexual abuse during medical assessment was significantly associated with a positive physical examination finding, child protective services substantiation, and issuance of a warrant, but not a finding of guilt or criminal penalty. CONCLUSIONS: Medical assessment plays an important role in the overall community response to child sexual abuse. While behavioral symptoms and disclosure are important in medical treatment and child protective services investigation, positive physical findings are associated with a finding of guilt. There is a trend toward less finding of guilt and more years of criminal penalty that is not explained by case characteristics.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2001

Temperamental contributions to the affect family of anxiety.

The discovery of pharmacologic interventions that mute the intensity of anxiety and guilt in some individuals has been a benevolent gift to those who suffer from these disabling states. Although some commentators have wondered about the social consequences of large numbers of asymptomatic persons taking these drugs, few have questioned the advantages for the smaller group of anguished patients. It is likely, however, that, during the next century, scientists will discover a drug that eliminates the feeling components of guilt and remorse while leaving intact the semantic knowledge that certain acts are ethically improper. An individual who took this drug regularly would continue to know that deceiving a friend, lying to a client, and stealing from an employer are morally wrong but would be protected from the uncomfortable feeling of guilt or remorse that accompanies a violation of a personal moral standard. It is reasonable to wonder, therefore, whether our society would be changed in a major way if many citizens were protected from guilt and remorse. Most Western philosophers, especially Kant, made reason the bedrock of conscience. People acted properly, Kant believed, because they knew that the behavior was morally right. All individuals wish to regard the self as virtuous and try to avoid the uncertainty that follows detection of the inconsistency that is created when they behave in ways that are not in accord with their view of the self's desirable attributes. Kant believed that, although the moral emotions restrain asocial acts, they were not necessary for the conduct of a moral life. On the other hand, some philosophers, such as Peirce and Dewey, argued that anticipation of anxiety, shame, and guilt motivate a continued loyalty to one's ethical standards. A person who was certain that he or she was protected from these uncomfortable emotions would find it easier to ignore the moral imperatives acquired during childhood and adolescence. It is not obvious that a drug that blocks remorse also will eliminate the mutual social obligations that make a society habitable; nonetheless, a posture of vigilance that is appropriate for--unlike gorillas--humans can hold representations of envy, anger, and dislike toward people they have never met for a very long time. While we wait for future inquiry to resolve this issue, it is useful to acknowledge that a satisfying analysis of this problem will require a deeper appreciation of the differences between the representations of the biological events that are the foundation of an emotion and the representations that define the semantic networks for the concepts good and bad.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Rethinking the probative value of evidence: base rates, intuitive profiling, and the "postdiction" of behavior.

It is argued that American courts may be routinely admitting evidence with little to no probative value and great potential for prejudicial impact. This may be particularly likely with regard to what is essentially "intuitive profiling" or "stereotype" related evidence, defined herein as evidence suggesting that the defendant (or other party), or his (her) behavior, fits intuitive "profiles" (or stereotypes) of the type of person likely to commit the crime or behavior in question. In other words, "intuitive profiling" evidence is admitted to "postdict" behavior Formal empirically based "profiling" evidence (testimony regarding the fit of a defendants characteristics or behaviors to formal or scientific profiles of the typical perpetrator of the crime in question) for use to prove guilt is inadmissible in American courts. However, we suggest that everyday use of informal intuitive profiles underlies both judicial determinations of probative value (diagnosticity), and thus admissibility, of evidence, and jurors' use of the evidence in determining guilt. Demonstrations of the use of base rate information to evaluate the probative value of such intuitive profiling evidence both as evidence of guilt and as evidence of innocence are provided. Demonstrations of both how to evaluate the actual probative value of evidence (when all necessary values are known), and the theoretical limit of its probative value (in circumstances where some values are not known) are provided. It is argued that such evaluations may provide the basis for (1) support of motions to either admit or to exclude evidence, (2) testimony to the jury to help them weigh or interpret evidence, (3) exculpatory profiling (profiling evidence of innocence), (4) pretrial research to establish probative versus prejudicial value of evidence, and (5) sufficiency analyses to determine maximum likelihood of guilt, given multiple items of evidence. Among these, the first two are considered most important, as it can be demonstrated that many "profiling" characteristics currently admitted in trial (such as evidence of battery to support a murder charge) are not probative of guilt.

Decision Support Techniques↗

PubMed1991

Characteristics of the postcounseling reproductive decision-making process: an explorative study.

An in-depth, recorded interview of 30 couples 2-3 years after genetic counseling explored the characteristics of the postcounseling decision-making process, including the role of guilt feelings towards the proband. The study concerned couples with an affected child, sib, or spouse. Results were evaluated by 2 to 4 judges. In contrast to other studies, a generally unstructured decision-making process was found whereby guilt feelings played a significant role in more than half the couples. Guilt feelings were more predominant in couples with an affected sib than in those with an affected spouse. Lack of structure did not seem to complicate the decision-making process. Therefore, authors do not advocate promotion of structuring the decision-making process. Genetic counselors might focus on understanding counselees' feelings concerning the reproductive decision. Acceptance of apparently irrational considerations is particularly important, because these feelings indicate the influence of unconscious motives. Another important aspect of supporting counselees is to understand the role played by guilt feelings toward parents or an affected sib.

Decision Making↗

PubMed2006

It was not me: attribution of blame for criminal acts in psychiatric offenders.

The current article addresses the psychometric qualities of the German Version of Gudjonsson's Blame Attribution Inventory (GBAI), a self-report scale for measuring attribution of blame for crime. The GBAI was administered to a criminal sample of forensic and criminal inmates (n=107). Findings indicate that the German version of the Gudjonsson Blame Attribution Inventory possesses acceptable test-retest stability and good internal consistency. Factor analysis reproduced the three basic dimensions of the GBAI: external attribution, mental-element attribution, and guilt-feeling attribution. Forensic patients had higher mental-element attribution and guilt-feeling attribution scores than the prison inmates. Interestingly, sexual offenders who were prisoners, showed the lowest guilt-feeling attribution, while sexual offenders who were forensic patients had the highest guilt-feeling attribution scores. Since earlier research reported a tendency of faking good in sexual offenders, we suggest that the forensic sexual offenders may demonstrate a social desirable response tendency in an attempt to gain sympathy and/or earlier parole. All in all, our data show that the German version of the GBAI is a valuable tool for measuring attributional styles of offenders.

Adult↗

PubMed1987

Food perception in dieters and non-dieters.

Two studies examined dieter-non-dieter differences in food perception. There were two specific questions. First, do dieters spontaneously categorize foods in terms of emotions (e.g., guilt) more than do non-dieters? Second, do dieters perceive foods in a more complex manner than do non-dieters? Female undergraduates (N = 50 and N = 46 in the two studies) were given cards containing the names of randomly-selected generic foods (e.g., cakes, melons) and were asked to "group the foods according to how you think about them when it comes to eating them". Herman and Polivy's Restraint Scale was used to classify subjects as dieters and non-dieters. Cluster analyses of the labels used by subjects to name their groups revealed six clusters in both studies. Four of these clusters showed substantial similarity across the two studies. These were an Enjoyment Cluster, a Sensory Qualities Cluster, a No Guilt Cluster and a Nutritional Qualities Cluster. One major finding was that, in both studies, dieters had significantly higher scores on the No Guilt Cluster than did non-dieters. Thus dieters thought of food in terms of absence of guilt more than did non-dieters. With respect to the issue of complexity in perception, the findings clearly contradicted the notion that dieters simply dichotomize food into "good" and "bad" categories.

Behavior↗

PubMed1994

Restraint and perception of body weight among British adults.

A sample of 533 adults (268 women and 265 men) representative of the general population of Great Britain were interviewed so that the extent and effects of restraint, using the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (DEBQ; Van Strien, Frijters, Bergers, & Defares, 1986) and the extent of overestimation of body weight could be examined. High-restraint subjects reported more guilt about food and eating and a greater likelihood of overeating in reaction to dysphoric mood, and they were more apt to overestimate their body size. Women reported significantly higher restraint, more guilt after eating in various types of social situations, and more overeating in reaction to dysphoric mood. Higher social class was associated with reports of guilt about a greater number of foods and with reports of more overeating when under stress or tired. Age was positively associated with guilt and negatively associated with overeating in reaction to being under stress, tired, or depressed.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Relationship of perceived macronutrient and caloric content to affective cognitions about food in eating-disordered, restrained, and unrestrained subjects.

Cognitive sets concerning food were examined in eating-disorder patients and in restrained and unrestrained control subjects. Subjects rated 38 common foods for preference, presence or absence of guilt and danger, preferred monthly frequency, and caloric, fat, and carbohydrate content. Cognitive ratings were examined based upon the individual's perceived amounts of calories and macronutrients. Hedonic ratings of foods perceived as high in fat or calories were different in patients with current or past anorexia and did not change with treatment. The fat-calorie aversions seen in these patients, therefore, appear to be stable trait characteristics of the disorder. Guilt and danger were perceived as separate constructs by unrestrained and restrained control subjects but not by patients. Perceived high amounts of calories or fat triggered stronger feelings of guilt and danger for restrained control subjects and patients (especially bulimic patients) as compared with unrestrained control subjects. The patients' expressions of guilt and danger improved with treatment.

Affect↗