Guilt and Shame: Explaining Associations Between Emotion Socialization and Emerging Adult Well‐Being

Abstract

ObjectiveTo explore shame and guilt as potential pathways linking recalled emotion socialization (ES) parenting behaviors during childhood with emerging adult outcomes.BackgroundAlthough ES has been associated with youth outcomes, more research is needed to uncover variables that may explain such associations. Additionally, the present study addresses limitations of extant literature by (a) exploring ES within the context of recalled discrete expressions of fear, anger, and sadness; (b) indexing both maternal and paternal ES responses; and (c) considering the possible moderating role of emerging adult gender.MethodA sample of 206 undergraduate and graduate students completed questionnaires asking them to recall parental ES during childhood and to report on current shame‐ and guilt‐proneness, depressive symptomology, and compassion for others. Following preliminary analyses, path analysis and the Monte Carlo method for assessing indirect effects were used to evaluate the statistical significance of the indirect effects in the path models.ResultsData suggest that shame and guilt help to explain the associations between certain parental ES practices and emerging adult outcomes. Associations between variables differed when taking into account discrete emotion expressed, parent gender, and participant gender.ConclusionResults highlight the complexity of ES processes and the importance of guilt and shame in understanding relations between ES and young adult outcomes. Important associations may be obscured in the ES literature by the common practice of collapsing discrete emotions into global indices and the tendency to primarily investigate mothers' ES practices.ImplicationsA more nuanced understanding of ES processes can contribute to the development of targeted and effective ES prevention and intervention programs.