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Although evidence indicates that Victim-Offender Mediation (VOM) provides an effective alternative to traditional sanctioning for young offenders, research investigating suitable candidates for VOM is lacking. Reintegrative shaming is theorized to be the mechanism underlying successful mediation; however, it is difficult to determine whether shame is the emotional reaction actually reflected by the theorys definition of shaming. The arousal of state shame and guilt following VOM was evaluated within a sample of 23 young offenders. The relationships between this emotional arousal, shame or guilt proneness, empathic orientation, and victim presence during sanctioning were also explored. Finally, an investigation of whether these individual emotional characteristics predict short-term, prosocial outcomes (i.e., satisfaction, positive attitude) was conducted. State guilt was significantly aroused among offenders diverted to VOM; however, only when a victim representative, rather than the victim participated in medication. Regression analyses demonstrated that pre-sanction guilt levels and cognitive empathic orientation significantly predicted the magnitude of guilt arousal, and in turn, guilt arousal predicted greater satisfaction and positive attitude. These findings conflict with the perspective that shame arousal underlies the success of VOM and indicate a need for attention to how the mediation process differs as a function of victim versus victim representative involvement. (Contains 22 references and 6 tables.) (Author)

While research on prosocial behavior has dramatically increased during the last 20 years, there are few studies examining the role of self-evaluative emotions such as pride and guilt as consequences of and motivations for helping others. This study examined how children attribute pride and guilt for actions germane to the moral or competence domain. Participating were 95 five- to nine-year-olds from a public and a Catholic parochial school. The children were individually presented a story in which a protagonist experienced two successes, one in a moral domain and the other in a competence domain, or two failures. A foil event was presented that was congruent with an emotion opposite the one appropriate for the purposeful successes/failures. Children were asked how the protagonist felt about himself/herself and what made the protagonist feel that way. Loglinear analyses were performed with the following factors: protagonist outcome (success versus failure), child age (below versus above 7 years), and school (public versus parochial). Dependent variables were appropriate emotional identification and moral domain identification. The findings indicated that older children were more likely than younger ones to identify the appropriate emotion and identify the moral domain. The appropriate emotion was more likely to be identified following the protagonist's failures versus successes. The moral domain was more likely to be identified following the protagonist's failures than successes. Parochial school children tended to perform at a more sophisticated level in identifying an emotion appropriate for failure in a moral domain, and less sophisticated in identifying emotion appropriate for success in a moral domain. (KB)

In previous research, children's empathy has been positively related to guilt and unrelated to shame. In the present study, it was predicted that guilt and empathy would have a curvilinear relationship, while shame and empathy were expected to be inversely related. Participating were 115 children: somewhat less than half were ages 8-9 years, while the remainder were 11-12 years old. Children completed the Test of Self-Conscious Affect--Children's Version (Tangney, Wagner, Burggraf, Gramzow, and Fletcher, 1990) and the Empathy Continuum (Strayer, 1993). Results were found to be conditional upon children's age and sex. Guilt and empathy were negatively related in younger boys; in all other groups guilt and empathy were positively related. Shame and empathy were negatively related in younger girls, and positively related in all other groups. Results suggested that guilt and shame undergo notable change in middle childhood. (Contains 11 references.) (Author/EV)

As the AIDS epidemic grows, society is faced by a growing number of children who are born HIV infected. Unfortunately, little systematic research has been conducted which addresses the psychological and social ramifications of HIV status disclosure to children. While most parents prefer not to inform the child of the illness, most clinicians favor disclosure. Some of the issues and questions favoring disclosure are explored in this paper. Some of the questions addressed include "At what age is the child able to comprehend the facts of seropositive status?""How will disclosure affect the child psychologically?" and "How will disclosure affect the child's life and relationships in social settings?" Research shows that parents influence the psychological implications of disclosure; some of the barriers to disclosure include guilt and shame, the fear of social consequences, and the fear of death. Likewise, children's responses to disclosure are important to understand and such information must be viewed as a process. Some of the questions confronting researchers and parents when deciding whether or not to inform a child of his or her illness include, "What are the roles of this debate?" and "Is disclosure beneficial or not?" Contains 28 references. (RJM)

Sociologists and psychologists have shown increasing interest in moral emotions such as pride, shame, and guilt, including their developmental role. While these emotions have an important part in normal development, the chronically shame-prone person has feelings of worthlessness, incompetence, and helplessness; a guilt-prone person dwells on imagined wrongs to be undone; and a pride-prone person risks social rejection. This study examined the extent to which various measures of guilt- and shame-proneness in children were differentially related to symptoms thought to be associated with development of internalizing and externalizing symptoms. The study involved both child and adult samples. The child sample consisted of 104 children from 5 to 12 years old, along with their parents. The children were tested, including completion of the Child Attribution and Reaction Survey-Child Version (C-CARS), Children's Interpretations of Interpersonal Distress and Conflict (CIIDC), and the Semi-Structured Clinical Interview for Children (SCIC). Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). The adult sample consisted of 102 college students in a psychology course. They completed the MMPI-2 and measures dealing with guilt- and shame-proneness. Results showed few indications that non-ruminative forms of guilt-proneness were related to psychological symptoms in either adults or children, but that it is premature to conclude that guilt is primarily adaptive in nature. Projective indicators of guilt were related strongly to shame-proneness, which itself was a salient variable in predicting externalizing symptoms in both children and adults. (Contains 20 references.) (BGC)

Based on the social cognitive perspective which assumes that children and teenagers internalize social values, this study focused on the psychological processes involved in the internalization of responsibility by young adolescents. The study examined whether preadolescents experienced social goals, ethical evaluations, and perceptions of efficacy in everyday situations involving responsibility, and whether these cognitions were correlated with responsible actions. The subjects were 106 ethnically diverse, middle-class fifth and sixth grade students. The students completed a survey in which they were asked to respond to four everyday responsibility situations which involved peer, family, and school settings. The students rated how much they would experience social cognitions in each situation. The social cognitions considered were: (1) social goals, such as caring for others and desire for social approval; (2) ethical evaluations which focused on personal values; and (3) efficacy evaluations of one's perceived ability to achieve objectives. The students also rated the likelihood of their engaging in responsible or irresponsible behavior. The correlation between the social cognitive variables and behavior ratings was assessed for each situation. Results revealed that multiple social cognitions are experienced by preadolescents in response to responsibility situations, which may indicate a correlation of conflict with both responsible and irresponsible behaviors. (BAC)

A university health center has experienced an increase in the number of women undergoing elective abortion which resulted in their seeking counseling services to assist them in dealing with overwhelming feelings of guilt and grief. The loss of a pregnancy is often followed by a typical grief reaction that occurs after any bereavement. In working with a number of women who were experiencing post-abortion grief and guilt, the women indicated that their abortions were performed at a variety of public and private clinic settings. The settings were described as being highly medical in nature. An amalgamation and synthesis of the literature review led to the therapeutic concept with these women that the clinic in which their abortion occurred was now a "sacred site" because of their experiences there. Using the setting to help validate the loss, the women were recommended to re-visit the site of their abortions and sit outside the facility for 10-15 minutes so that they could re-live their experience and speak to their fetus/child. If they chose, they could leave something behind as an offering after they had time to reflect upon their experience. It is recommended that practicing therapists continue to develop creative approaches to ease any guilt/grief reactions caused in the aftermath of elective abortion, and more importantly for women to be there for each other. (ABL)

The effect of parental Holocaust trauma on children's Jewish identity and Holocaust-related ideation was investigated through comparison of children of survivors with children of American Jews. The role of possible mediating factors, (the quality of parental communication style) was also assessed. Subjects included 40 adult children of Jewish survivors of the Holocaust (20 males, 20 females) and 40 adult children of American Jews (19 males, 19 females), born in either the United States or Canada. Whereas children of Holocaust survivors showed significantly more holocaust ideation than did children of American Jews, they did not appreciably differ in measures of Jewish identity. In addition, mediating factors were suggested. A significant relationship was found between level of parental trauma and parental communication style. Moreover, parental communication style was associated with ethnic identification. Implications for clinical intervention with families beset by catastrophe are discussed. An appendix provides a scale of Holocaust-related imagery and three tables illustrating: (1) demographic information; (2) Jewish Identity and Holocaust Ideation; and (3) the relationship between parental trauma and child response. (SR)

Explores the relationship between college students' self-reports of adolescent substance use and scores on indices tapping different aspects of guilt. Results suggest that a stronger internalization of societal standards, as reflected by higher scores on Standards and Situational Guilt, may prove a useful tool in the prevention of substance use. (Contains 66 references and 5 tables.) (GCP)

In a hermeneutic phenomenology study, the main purpose of which was to explore how White graduate students made meaning of being White, race related guilt was found to be a prominent emotion. This article explores race related guilt and suggests liberation therapy as a counseling tool to transform guilt to positive action. (Contains 69 references.) (Author)

Explores how gender role stress variables are related to shame-proneness, guilt-proneness, and externalization. Analyses revealed three significant roots for the male sample accounting for 50% of the total variance between gender role stress and self-conscious emotions, and 1 significant root for the female sample accounting for 31% of the variance. (Contains 70 references and 3 tables.) (GCP)

Evaluates burden as experienced by a group of American Indian primary family caregivers. Analysis of items composing the Caregiver Burden scale indicate that caregiver burden is multidimensional and consists of several types of burden. Finds that caregiver burden is composed of four dimensions: role conflict, negative feelings, lack of caregiver efficacy, and guilt. (Contains 49 references and 4 tables.) (GCP)

The author conducted a self-study of his emotional experience as an elementary teacher. During a sabbatical from a position as an education professor in a teacher education department, he spent 1 year teaching half-time in a first-second-third grade blended classroom. Teacher emotions were located in a larger sociocultural context. The paper examines the experiences of joy, anxiety, embarrassment, and guilt as well as the overall experiences of frustration and emotional management. It concludes that teaching is inherently emotionally stressful work, and much of the stress is contained in the role and social structure of teachers' work. Among a set of recommendations, the paper calls for the explicit study of emotions in teacher education curricula. In addition, it is recommended that teacher education programs teach political advocacy skills so teachers can more effectively influence policy decisions that affect the quality of their work lives. (Contains 26 references.) (Author/SM)

Article reviews the constructs of religion, guilt, and mental health, and explores relationships between these constructs as they pertain to the counseling profession. General therapeutic approaches are identified and summarized for counseling practice. (Author/JDM)

Explores the differences between shame and guilt in suicide, with a focus on experiential and developmental factors and on behavioral reactions to these emotions. Illustrates the role of shame as a motive for suicidal behavior and provides examples of suicidal behavior in Greek tragedy, Asian cultures, jails, and famous individuals. (RJM)

Proposes a new explanation for accumulated research findings concerning door-in-the-face (DITF) influence strategy. Treats successful DITF implementations as guilt based. Finds explanation consistent with theoretical and empirical understandings of the nature of guilt and with guilt-based social influence. Suggests a significant role for a new moderator, the identity of the beneficiary of the requests. (PA)