Are Constructiveness and Destructiveness Essential Features of Guilt and Shame Feelings Respectively?

This paper involves a critical evaluation of a conceptualization of guilt and shame, which guides a number of research mainly in social psychology. In the contemporary literature, conceptualization of guilt and shame shows variation. In one of the leading approaches, guilt is regarded as an experience that targets behavior in evaluative thought and shame as targeting the self. According to this distinction, guilt has a constructive nature and it motivates the individual to take reparative actions, since it targets the behavior, whereas shame has a destructive quality and is linked with problem behaviors, since it targets the self. The claim that guilt and shame are adaptive and maladaptive feelings respectively by their very nature, has been challenged by theory and research. Researchers from non‐Western cultures also criticized compartmentalization of guilt and shame as constructive and destructive emotions by emphasizing cultural variation in the experience of self‐conscious emotions. In this regard, the present paper argues that features of constructiveness and destructiveness do not necessarily follow from the definitions of guilt and shame and that this dichotomous conceptualization of guilt and shame, and the research findings based on this dichotomy need reconsideration.     

Young male offenders in community‐based rehabilitative programmes – self‐reported history of antisocial behaviour predicts recidivism

Ginner Hau H, Smedler A.‐C. Young male offenders in community‐based rehabilitative programmes – self‐reported history of antisocial behaviour predicts recidivism Int J Soc Welfare 2011: 20: 413–420 © 2011 The Author(s), International Journal of Social Welfare © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. Recidivism over 18 months was investigated in a representative group of young Swedish male offenders, 15–17 years old, referred to community‐based rehabilitative programmes (n= 189). Registry data on their earlier contacts with social services and previous convictions were also collected. Eighteen months after programme start, 60 per cent of the young offenders were registered as suspected of new crimes, 48 per cent were registered for crimes of violence. Previous contacts with the social services had been documented for 44 per cent, and 30 per cent were registered as previously convicted. However, the group was highly heterogeneous, and all registry data corresponded well with self‐reported history of antisocial behaviour collected at the start of the programme, which identified three subgroups (n= 60, 65 and 64, respectively) with significantly different problem profiles. Results are discussed in relation to developmental theories of antisocial development and the need to adhere to the risk principle when designing interventions for young offenders.     

Different problems – same treatment. Swedish juvenile offenders in community‐based rehabilitative programmes

Ginner Hau H, Smedler A‐C. Different problems – same treatment. Swedish juvenile offenders in community‐based rehabilitative programmes Int J Soc Welfare 2011: 20: 87–96 © 2009 The Author, Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. Young delinquents may be regarded as children in need of rehabilitation or as offenders deserving of consequences proportional to the committed crime. The focus has increasingly been on the latter, while research shows that individual risk assessment is essential for effective rehabilitation. This study explored self‐reported history of antisocial behaviour among Swedish male offenders 15–17 years of age (n= 189) who were sentenced to participate in rehabilitative programmes conducted by local social services. Antisocial behaviour was extensive and, according to a principal component analysis, consisted of three dimensions: (i) adolescent delinquency; (ii) violence and theft; (iii) drug‐related crimes. Using cluster analysis, the participants were divided into four subgroups representing different levels and characteristics of delinquency, which explained 73 per cent of the variance in antisocial behaviour. The conclusion is that assignment to rehabilitative programmes appeared unrelated to subgroups, i.e. to risk level. Organisational obstacles to an evidence‐based practice are discussed.     

Individual Differences in Infants' Emotional Resonance to a Peer in Distress: Self–Other Awareness and Emotion Regulation

In this study, relations between emotional resonance responses to another's distress, emotion regulation, and self‐other discrimination were investigated in infants three‐, six‐, and nine‐months‐old. We measured the emotional reactions to the pain cry of a peer, along with the ability to regulate emotions and to discriminate between self and other body movements. We found evidence that infants do regulate their emotional resonance responses to another's distress. This relation is age specific, with younger infants using more primitive self‐soothing behaviors, while in older participants attentional based strategies relate to affect sharing reactions. Only nine‐month‐old infants have shown self‐other differentiation abilities, and these were significantly connected to their emotions in response to a peer's distress. These findings have implications for our understanding of early empathy development.     

Examining family and school factors as predictors of delinquency: A study of juvenile offenders,at‐risk students,and low‐risk students in Malaysia

This study aims to examine family and school factors as predictors of delinquency among adolescents in Malaysia. A total of 101 juvenile offenders, 86 at‐risk students, and 92 low‐risk students were involved in this study. Multinomial logistic regression was used to predict the likelihood of an adolescent being in a group of juvenile offenders or of being an at‐risk or low‐risk student, based on four predictor variables: family structure, family relationships, school relationships, and commitment to learning. The results show that family relations, school relations, and commitment to learning have different predictive effects on the likelihood of different levels of delinquent behavior. However, family structure is not found to be a significant predictor in the logistic regression in this study. The findings of the study suggest that keeping young people in school can serve as a strong protective factor that serves to prevent at‐risk students from moving along the trajectory of serious delinquent behaviors.     

Empathy and Observed Anger and Aggression in Five-Year-Olds

In Roberts and Strayer (1996 ), we reported that emotional expressiveness and anger were important predictors of empathy for school‐age children, and that empathy strongly predicted prosocial behaviors aggregated across methods and sources. In this paper, we report how empathy was associated with direct observations of anger and aggression in peer play groups. Twenty‐four initially unacquainted five‐year‐old children (50% girls) were randomly assigned to six same‐sex groups; each group met for three one‐hour play sessions. Physical and verbal aggression, object struggles and anger were coded from videotapes, as were prosocial and social behaviors. As expected, empathy (aggregated across methods and sources) was negatively associated with aggression and anger, and positively associated with prosocial behaviors. Although children who were more angry were also more aggressive, anger and aggression did not covary across play sessions as a simple causal model requires. These results suggest further directions for research in emotions and aggression.     

Person × Context Effects on Anticipated Moral Emotions Following Aggression

We investigated person (sex, aggression level), context (witness type, victim reactions), and person × context effects on children's anticipated moral emotions following hypothetical acts of aggression against a peer. Children (N = 378, mean age = 11.3 years) were presented a series of hypothetical vignettes in which the presence of witnesses (no witnesses/most liked classmates/all of the class) and victim's reactions (neutral/ sad/ angry) were manipulated. The results indicated several person effects (e.g., girls anticipated more guilt and shame but less pride than boys; aggressiveness was related to less guilt and shame), as well as context effects (e.g., anticipated shame depended on who witnessed the situation and the emotional reactions of the victim). However, person × context effects predominated. The overall pattern of results indicated that girls and low‐aggressive children were more sensitive to contextual cues than boys and high‐aggressive children. The findings support the importance of a person × context approach to understanding the emotional reactions of different children in different situations.     

Empathy to action: Child and adolescent out‐group attitudes and prosocial behaviors in a setting of intergroup conflict

The paper explored how to promote constructive intergroup relations among children and young people in a context of protracted conflict. Across two studies, the Empathy–Attitudes–Action model was examined in middle childhood and adolescence. More specifically, we tested the relations among dispositional empathy, out‐group attitudes, and prosocial behaviors for youth born after the peace agreement in Northern Ireland. In one correlational (Study 1: N = 132; 6–11 years old: M = 8.42 years, SD = 1.23) and one longitudinal design (Study 2: N = 466; 14–15 years old), bootstrapped mediation analyses revealed that empathy was associated with more positive attitudes toward the conflict‐related out‐group, which in turn, was related to higher out‐group prosocial behaviors, both self‐report and concrete actions. Given that out‐group prosocial acts in a setting of intergroup conflict may serve as the antecedents for peacebuilding among children and adolescents, this study has intervention implications.     

THE IMPACT OF ILLICIT DRUG USE ON NON‐USING SIBLINGS IN THE VIETNAMESE COMMUNITY

This study explored the issues facing young Vietnamese who have a sibling with an illicit drug addiction and the coping strategies that they and their families employ. This paper concentrated on the results from interviews/focus groups of Vietnamese parents and young people. There were some areas of commonality between the responses of the parent and youth cohorts. Issues of shame, guilt, grief and lack of support were raised by both groups. The reactions of parents and siblings change over time, as the negative impact of the user's behaviour intensified and family systems become strained. There were significant differences in the responses of the two cohorts in relation to parental behaviour. The youth cohort generally was critical of parental behaviour towards both children who are using illicit drugs and their non‐using siblings.     

Patterns of Reactive and Proactive Aggression in Young Adolescents in Singapore

The authors investigated the patterns of reactive and proactive aggression exhibited by young male (N = 604) and female (N = 544) adolescents in Singapore. Self‐report measures of reactive and proactive aggression, behavioral and emotional adjustment, parenting styles, and delinquency were administered to students aged 13–14. Using cluster analysis, three distinct patterns of aggression emerged: a low aggressive group, a combined aggressive group with high reactive and proactive aggression, and a reactively aggressive group with low proactive and high reactive aggression. The two aggressive groups showed similar disturbances in adjustment and delinquency, but the combined group showed the greatest disruptions. Findings indicate cross‐cultural stability of patterns of aggression as well as the usefulness of the reactive/proactive distinction in early identification of individuals with adjustment problems.     

Risk Factors for Ethnic Prejudice During Early Adolescence

This study examines risk factors for ethnic prejudice during early adolescence in a sample of Italian middle school students (N=187). It was predicted that low peer status would be associated with negative ratings of ethnic out‐groups, but that this relation would be moderated by self‐esteem. It was further hypothesized that individuals and their self‐nominated groups would be similar with regard to ethnic prejudice, and that antisocial behavior would be positively related to ethnic prejudice. Consistent with our prediction, results revealed that when self‐esteem was low, low peer status was associated with high prejudice against out‐groups. On the contrary, when self‐esteem was high, this relation was non‐existent. Moreover, individuals and their self‐nominated groups were similar with regard to ethnic prejudice, but only for stigmatized out‐groups. A relation was found between antisocial behavior and ethnic prejudice, but only for non‐stigmatized out‐groups. The present study emphasizes the importance (1) of studying individual differences in risk factors and levels of prejudice and (2) of investigating the influence that peers may have on the development of ethnic prejudice.     

Shame and guilt in child protection social work: new interpretations and opportunities for practice

Shame is an underexplored and misunderstood emotion. It can be described as an acute awareness of one's flawed and unworthy self. It is the primary social emotion and one of our most intimate feelings developed within the context of our family of origin, which can have a devastating effect on an individual and their relationships. Social workers are routinely faced with issues of shame as an intrinsic consequence of the matters with which social work deals and also as a result of how both families and workers experience the child protection process. This paper outlines the research on shame and guilt to argue for a re‐evaluation of the key challenges faced by child protection social workers. It is argued that shame experienced by parents and carers potentially plays a significant role in these challenges, while it may be argued that ‘guilt’ has had a bad press and may potentially play an important role in the successes. An argument is made for a shame‐reducing child protection social work practice with some key themes for practitioners to consider in their attempt to improve the accuracy of assessments and intervention.     

Self-perceived Social Acceptance and Peer Social Standing in Children with Aggressive–Disruptive Behaviors

Examining children's perceptions of their social acceptance in conjunction with others’ ratings of their peer social standing can enhance our understanding of the heterogeneity in children exhibiting disruptive behavior problems. Using a sample of 213 youth rated in the top 31 percent of their class on aggressive–disruptive behaviors, the current study examined the interaction between children's perceptions of their social acceptance and their peer‐rated social standing in predicting emotional and behavioral problems. Overall, lower peer‐rated social standing was associated with higher levels of antisocial behavior, academic problems, and hyperactivity/inattention. On the other hand, higher self‐perceived social acceptance was associated with increased levels of peer‐rated fighting at school. For children who were rated as having high social standing among their peers, poorer self‐perceived social acceptance was associated with increased oppositional behaviors and conduct problems at home. In addition, children who reported lower self‐perceived social acceptance exhibited increased levels of depressive symptoms, even when they were relatively well liked by their peers. The potential implications for working with subgroups of children with aggressive–disruptive behaviors are discussed.     

Guilt and shame: an axiomatic analysis

Using the machinery of Game Theory, this article analyzes how shame and guilt affect preferences. Based on abundant psychological literature, we posit that the preference ordering of someone who can feel shame (or guilt) must satisfy a number of axioms and prove that it can be represented by a particular utility function. Understanding how shame and guilt work is important to explain why people respect social norms and exhibit prosocial behavior, many times contrary to their material interest.     

Social Work Students’ Perceptions of Themselves and Others: Self-Esteem,Empathy, and Forgiveness

ABSTRACT

This study examined how 86 social work students attending a university in Florida viewed themselves and others in relation to self-esteem, empathy, and forgiveness. The study used a cross-sectional, self-administered survey. Results indicated female students reported a higher level of emotional empathy than that reported by male students. Significant relationships were also noted between forgiveness of others and the age of the respondent and ethnicity. Self-esteem was a significant predictor of forgiveness of self and forgiveness of others; and empathy is a significant predictor of forgiveness of others. The study identified the need for social work educators to help students develop a strong sense of self and an understanding of others. Future research is suggested to explore how the timing of a transgression affects forgiveness of self and others.     

Effects of consistency between self and in‐group on children's views of self,groups, and abilities

Children's developing views of self and in‐groups inevitably conflict at points during childhood (e.g., a girl who thinks of herself as strong encounters the gender stereotype that girls are weak). How are self and group views reconciled in such cases? To test hypotheses based on Greenwald et al.'s model of self, group, and attribute relations, children (N = 107; ages 7–12; M = 9 years, 6 months) were assigned to novel social groups, denoted by red and blue t‐shirts, in their classrooms. Across 3 weeks, children completed three novel tasks and received false feedback on personal and group task performance, producing a between‐subjects experimental design in which children received either consistent or inconsistent self and group feedback. Immediately after receiving feedback, children answered questions about the particular task. Finally, upon completion of all three manipulations, children completed measures of views of the self and novel groups. As predicted, children's views of the tasks, self, and groups were influenced by feedback. Unexpectedly, children viewed themselves as more similar to the in‐group than out‐group irrespective of feedback consistency. Furthermore, children developed in‐group biased attitudes, but these biases were largely unrelated to feedback.     

Mothers' Regulation Strategies in Response to Toddlers' Affect: Links to Later Emotion Self-Regulation

Recently, there has been a great deal of research on the socialization of children's emotions and self‐regulation. In the present study, the specific strategies that mothers use to help their young children regulate their emotional responses were examined using a longitudinal design. Forty‐three mother–toddler pairs were observed when toddlers were both 18 and 30 months of age, and mothers’ attempts to regulate their toddlers’ emotions during several emotion‐eliciting tasks were transcribed from videotape. When the children were 5 years old, their responses to a disappointment task were observed. Results indicated a relation between mothers’ regulation strategies in toddlerhood and children's facial and behavioral responses to the disappointment task measured at 5 years of age. Specifically, mothers’ use of regulation strategies at 30 months, but not at 18 months, was positively related to children's appropriate emotional displays in response to disappointment. Moreover, the specific types of strategies that mothers used had differential associations to children's responses to disappointment. Findings are discussed in terms of the potentially important role of mothers’ behaviors in the development of children's emotion self‐regulation.     

Maternal Emotion-related Socialization and Preschoolers' Developing Emotion Self-awareness

Preschoolers' ability to demonstrate awareness of their own emotion is an important socio‐emotional competence which has received increasing attention in the developmental literature. The present study examined emotion self‐awareness of happiness, sadness, and anger in response to a delay of gratification task in 78 preschool children. Maternal emotion‐related socialization behaviors (ERSBs) including reported emotional expressivity, responses to her child's emotions, and observed emotion talk, were examined as predictors of children's emotion self‐awareness skill one year later. Results show that, after controlling for receptive language ability, supportive ERSBs were predictive of high self‐awareness of happiness whereas non‐supportive ERSBs were predictive of low self‐awareness of sadness. The results demonstrate that the concordance between observed and self‐reported emotion serves as a useful index of children's awareness of their emotional experience.     

Hateful Sirens. . .Who Hears Their Song? An Examination of Student Attitudes Toward Hate Groups and Affiliation Potential

Sources indicate a rise in hate crimes committed by persons affiliated with hate groups (Bowles, 1993; Levin, 2002). Although the majority of these offenders remain unaffiliated, it is nevertheless important to understand why individuals become attracted to hate groups. This exploratory study examined youth attitudes toward hate groups. Deprivation and interpersonal bonds theories were used to explain hate group attraction among students. Secondary and university students completed the 567 surveys used in the analysis. Results indicated that crime-related measures and exposure to hate groups by word-of-mouth contacts were more often related to supportive attitudes. These effects were further associated with secondary students. Neodeprivation theory is offered for exploring hate group attraction by more educated persons.     

Parent and Peer Restrictions of Opportunities Attenuate the Link between Low Self‐control and Antisocial Behavior

Focusing on parents and peers as restrictors of opportunities, this study tested whether restricted opportunities attenuate the link between low self‐control and antisocial behavior as hypothesized by the General Theory of Crime. Early adolescents (N = 180, M age = 12.04 years, 49.4 percent female, 49 percent European American, 45 percent African American) reported their levels of self‐control, antisocial peer involvement, unsupervised time, parental solicitation, family rules, and involvement in antisocial behavior. Low levels of antisocial peer involvement and high levels of parental supervision, solicitation, and family rules were conceptualized as restricted opportunities for antisocial behavior. Opportunity restrictions attenuated the association between low self‐control and antisocial behavior such that low self‐control was less strongly associated with antisocial behavior when youth experienced less antisocial peer involvement, less unsupervised time, more parental solicitation, and more family rules than when youth experienced more antisocial peer involvement, more unsupervised time, less parental solicitation, and fewer family rules. Results clarify and extend our understanding of the role of restricted opportunities for low self‐control youth in the General Theory of Crime.