Experience Of Guilt Research Articles

EP425: Parental impact of genome sequencing during the neonatal period

Genome sequencing (GS) can shorten the diagnostic odyssey for infants and children with suspected genetic conditions, but is often not performed during the neonatal period. It is unknown what impact the use of GS in critically-ill infants could have on parents and families. In particular, it is unknown whether receiving a genetic diagnosis early in infancy affects parental experience of guilt for the child’s condition or affects parent-baby attachment. In SouthSeq, part of the Clinical Sequencing Evidence-Generating Research Consortium, we evaluated GS as a first-line diagnostic tool for critically-ill infants with suspected but undiagnosed genetic conditions. Infants with findings suggestive of a genetic condition underwent GS with Sanger confirmation in probands and in parent samples, when available, to determine inheritance. Enrollment took place at participating nurseries in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Kentucky. Families were randomized to receive GS results from either a genetic counselor or a non-genetics provider, typically a neonatologist. Using a purposive sampling strategy designed to overrepresent groups historically under-represented in biomedical research, families were selected to participate in interviews one to six months following disclosure of results. Interviews focused on parental experiences with participating in GS during the neonatal period, often in the context of neonatal intensive care. Of 640 infants who underwent GS in SouthSeq, 62 families participated in interviews. Parents were given the option of participating in interviews together with the child’s other parent or separately. A number chose separate interviews, resulting in 76 total interviews being conducted. When asked whether they felt receipt of their child’s results took place too early in their journey, too late, or at about the right time, most parents reported that results were received at the right time, typically when the child was 2-4 months of age. Many felt that if results had been received earlier in their infant’s course, while the child’s condition was more acute, they would have been too overwhelmed to process the result adequately. Many parents reported difficulty bonding with their infant, although they were dismissive of the possibility that the genetic result impaired bonding. Instead, they cited emotional distancing as a form of self-preservation, an overwhelming NICU environment, and the inability to take their child home soon after birth. Those who received a genetic diagnosis found this information useful for a number of reasons, including understanding the etiology of their child’s condition, reproductive decision-making, and long-term planning for the care of the child. Parents valued access to GS during the neonatal period. Although guilt and difficulty bonding were common experiences, most parents rejected the idea that these challenges were exacerbated by GS results. Although follow-up interviews would be useful to develop a longitudinal understanding of the impact of GS during the neonatal period, these findings support the use of GS during this period. In particular, these findings do not support delaying genetic testing, including GS, in order to avoid interfering with parent-baby bonding or to avoid overwhelming families early in their journey caring for a child with a congenital condition.

OP031: The emotional experience of hemophilia heterozygote women: Average maternal guilt, effective coping strategies, and resilience within the hemophilia community

Heterozygote mothers of children with Hemophilia experience guilt related to this inherited genetic condition. Several factors contributing to maternal guilt in Hemophilia heterozygotes have been identified, but the scope and extent of guilt have not previously been quantified. Understanding the scope and extent of maternal guilt allows providers to provide appropriate targeted counseling, suggest effective coping strategies, and promote positive health outcomes for mothers and their children. This study first sought to gain insight into the experience of mothers with sons with Hemophilia and how they perceive and manage medical guilt.

Guilt Without Fault: Accidental Agency in the Era of Autonomous Vehicles.

The control principle implies that people should not feel guilt for outcomes beyond their control. Yet, the so-called 'agent and observer puzzles' in philosophy demonstrate that people waver in their commitment to the control principle when reflecting on accidental outcomes. In the context of car accidents involving conventional or autonomous vehicles (AVs), Study 1 established that judgments of responsibility are most strongly associated with expressions of guilt-over and above other negative emotions, such as sadness, remorse or anger. Studies 2 and 3 then confirmed that, while people generally endorse the control principle, and deny that occupants in an AV should feel guilt when involved in an accident, they nevertheless ascribe guilt to those same occupants. Study 3 also uncovered novel implications of the observer puzzle in the legal context: Passengers in an AV were seen as more legally liable than either passengers in a conventional vehicle, or even their drivers-especially when participants were prompted to reflect on the passengers' affective experience of guilt. Our findings document an important conflict-in the context of AV accidents-between people's prescriptive reasoning about responsibility and guilt on one hand, and their counter-normative experience of guilt on the other, with apparent implications for liability decisions.

“I feel like the worst mother in the world”: Neoliberal subjectivity in Indigenous Australian oral health

Neoliberalism gained popularity during the post-Cold War period as a set of dominating ideologies, practices and policies that underpinned the movement towards globalisation. Neoliberalism champions competitive private markets, deregulation that facilitates economic activity, personal responsibility, and reduced public expenditure on infrastructure. A decade after the initial rise of neoliberalism, health inequities became concerns on the global stage. Oral health inequities aptly reflect social injustices due to the unique relation between material circumstances, access to health services and structural inequities. In Australia, Indigenous children experience early childhood caries at alarmingly higher rates than non-Indigenous children. Recently, neoliberalism has been suggested as an overwhelming contributor to Indigenous oral health disparities. This qualitative research is an extension of a single-blind parallel-arm randomised control trial that aimed to identify factors related to the increased occurrence of dental caries in Indigenous children. The objective of this constructivist grounded theory study was to generate an understanding of how neoliberal subjectivity exists for Indigenous peoples in the context of oral health in Australia. Experiences of ownership, guilt, failure, embarrassment, shame, and judgment were key in participants’ experiences of neoliberal subjectivity; these feelings were exacerbated by experiences of bullying, financial limitations, and institutional racism. We argue that individual responsibility for health, as a tenet of neoliberal ideologies, furthers Indigenous oral health inequities and that neoliberalism as a societal discourse perpetuates colonial values by benefitting the privileged and further oppressing the disadvantaged. Trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry ACTRN12611000111976; registered February 01, 2011.

Coping and guilt in informal caregivers: a predictive model based on structural equations

ABSTRACT Caregivers experience great stress, and coping can be one of the factors, which determine the extent of stress. The aim of the present paper is to analyze the effects of coping strategies on distress of the older adult’s caregiver, including guilt as a mediating factor in those maladaptive strategies. The sample consisted of 201 informal caregivers of institutionalized older adults. The three constructs measured were: stress, guilt, and coping strategies. Results showed that strategies that have a better ability to reduce stress are active, positive reframing and acceptance; on the contrary, behavioral disengagement, self-distraction, self-blame and venting positively predicted the feeling of guilt that facilitated the perception of stress. Given the important association obtained between the experience of guilt and psychological distress in caregivers, it could be relevant to develop psychoeducational interventions with caregivers including techniques to reduce this feeling of guilt and develop cognitive behavioral strategies that facilitate adaptation.

"I'm Going to Be Good to Me": Exploring the Role of Shame and Guilt in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes.

People with type 2 diabetes are likely to experience shame or guilt as they navigate through their disease. Previous research has shown that feelings of shame and guilt often exist within the clinician-patient relationship, often as a result of the complex care regimen required to achieve treatment goals. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore patients' experiences of shame and guilt in type 2 diabetes management and the impact their clinicians have on these experiences. Semistructured interviews were used to explore patients' experiences with shame and guilt. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded using directed content analysis. Demographic data were also obtained. We completed 20 interviews with people with type 2 diabetes (65% Black, 70% female). Participants exhibited feelings more consistent with guilt than with shame. All participants discussed how their clinicians affected these feelings. Patients who expressed feelings of guilt were able to recognize opportunities for behavior change without experiencing global devaluation, in which they linked their actions to an unchangeable aspect of their identity or personality, often describing their guilt as motivating of change. Unlike guilt, when patients experienced shame, they often exhibited global devaluation, in which they blamed their personality, experienced hopelessness, and increased maladaptive behaviors. Our findings highlight a notable difference between shame and guilt in the context of type 2 diabetes management. We believe that incorporation of an understanding of these nuances, along with ideal responses to both shame and guilt, will enhance clinicians' ability to provide high-quality patient-centered care to people with diabetes.

An Intersectional Feminist Analysis of Women’s Experiences of Authenticity in Pornography

ABSTRACT Most pornography research has examined negative consequences of use among heterosexual men. Scant research has explored the benefits of using pornography among women, though research does indicate several potential benefits, including increased sexual self-esteem, sexual knowledge, and sexual communication. Research suggests that women may maximize these benefits when they perceive pornography to be authentic. To more fully understand the importance and perceptions of authenticity in pornography, we analyzed qualitative interviews with 24 women in the U.S. who reported recent pornography use. Ages ranged from 22 to 53 (M = 30.33, SD = 6.91), 62.5% were white, and most (79.2%) reported a sexual identity other than heterosexual. Thematic analyses indicated that authenticity was important for most women’s enjoyment of pornography, partially via its utility in reducing guilt and emotional labor (i.e., the work needed to enjoy or believe the content). Furthermore, women’s intersectional identities, such as race and sexual orientation, influenced their experiences of guilt and emotional labor. Finally, women determined authenticity within pornography in three primary ways: analyzing appearance, performance, and intimacy. Results suggest research, clinical, and educational opportunities to support women’s sexual exploration and pleasure via engagement with pornography.

“Rocked by Racism”: A Confessional Tale From a Trainee Practitioner Following a Racism Scandal at an Elite Youth Soccer Academy

In this case study, we present a confessional tale that outlines the unique challenges and experiences of a trainee practitioner working in an elite youth soccer academy, during and following a racism scandal. We first locate our intersectional identities before contextualizing how the racism scandal emerged. Nested within the confessional tale is a series of critical reflections relating to the internal conflict between the trainee practitioner’s values, beliefs, and ethical obligations when working with released players who engaged in the racist behavior, confronting his Whiteness, White privileges, and experiences of White guilt and the lack of a culturally centered framework within the supervisee–supervisor relationship. While the trainee practitioner recognizes the significant work still required to become more culturally humble, we conclude by offering several applied recommendations to support others in developing a more culturally grounded practice framework.

Kaino kaltės pavyzdžiai kunigo Jurgio Pabrėžos pamoksluose

Overcoming guilt and feeling spiritual peace is a fundamental human endeavour. The church calls for reconciliation with oneself, others and God and it calls to seek salvation – eternal happiness and peace. One of the most active preachers of the teaching of the Church was priest Jurgis Pabrėža (1771–1849), whose 250th birth anniversary has been commemorated in 2021. He was the man with an ambition to serve others wholeheartedly so that we “receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5: 9). Speaking of human guilt and liberation from the oppressive feeling of guilt in his sermons, Fr. J. Pabrėža provided the example of Cain’s story. J. Pabrėža mentions the biblical name of Cain in his sermon collection “Sermons on Various Matters” 22 times. Of 48 sermons in this collection Cain is mentioned in 5 of them. Examples of Cain’s experience of sin and guilt are provided when discussing the spiritual well-being of a person: who has no hope of being saved; who does not commit sin by killing another man; why is it bad to desire what belongs to another; what evil is there in a jealous sneer towards others; what is wrong with a blasphemous confession? In the biblical story of Cain and examples of this narrative in the sermons of Fr. J. Pabrėža we see that a person experiences a disturbing feeling of guilt as a subconscious state of insecurity, helplessness and spiritual suffering, and as a lack of meaning in life. This sense of guilt has its own cause – sin, i.e. acting in the world against the laws of nature.

Group‐based shame, guilt, and regret across cultures

To date, there has been no systematic examination of cross‐cultural differences in group‐based shame, guilt, and regret following wrongdoing. Using a community sample (N = 1358), we examined people's reported experiences of shame, guilt, and regret following transgressions by themselves and by different identity groups (i.e., family, community, country) in Burkina Faso, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, the Netherlands, Poland, and the United States. We assessed whether any variation in this regard can be explained by the relative endorsement of individualistic or collectivistic values at the individual level and at the country level. Our findings suggest that people's reported experience of these emotions mostly depends on the transgression level. We also observe some variation across individuals and countries, which can be partially explained by the endorsement of collectivistic and individualistic values. The results highlight the importance of taking into account individual and cultural values when studying group‐based emotions, as well as the identity groups involved in the transgression.

Experiences of Wearable Technology by Persons with Knee Osteoarthritis Participating in a Physical Activity Counseling Intervention: Qualitative Study Using a Relational Ethics Lens.

BackgroundCurrent evidence indicates physical activity wearables could support persons with knee osteoarthritis (OA) to be more physically active. However, recent evidence also identifies some persons with arthritis experience guilt or worry while using a wearable if they are not as active as they feel they should be. Questions remain around how persons with knee OA experience benefits or downsides using a wearable in their everyday lives. Better understanding is needed if wearables are to be incorporated in arthritis self-management in ethically aware ways.ObjectiveUsing an ethics lens, we aimed to describe a range of experiences from persons with knee OA who used a wearable during a physical activity counseling intervention study.MethodsThis is a secondary analysis of qualitative interviews nested within a randomized controlled trial. Guided by phenomenography, we explored the experiences of persons with knee OA following participation in a physical activity counseling intervention that involved using a Fitbit Flex and biweekly phone calls with a study physiotherapist (PT) in an 8-week period. Benefits or downsides experienced in participants’ relationships with themselves or the study PT when using the wearable were identified using a relational ethics lens.ResultsInterviews with 21 participants (12 females and 9 males) aged 40 to 82 years were analyzed. Education levels ranged from high school graduates (4/21, 19%) to bachelor’s degrees or above (11/21, 52%). We identified 3 categories of description: (1) participants experienced their wearable as a motivating or nagging influence to be more active, depending on how freely they were able to make autonomous choices about physical activity in their everyday lives; (2) some participants felt a sense of accomplishment from seeing progress in their wearable data, which fueled their motivation; (3) for some participants, sharing wearable data helped to build mutual trust in their relationship with the study PT. However, they also expressed there was potential for sharing wearable data to undermine this trust, particularly if this data was inaccurate.ConclusionsFindings provide an early glimpse into positive and negative emotional impacts of using a wearable that can be experienced by participants with knee OA when participating in a randomized controlled trial to support physical activity. To our knowledge, this is the first qualitative study that uses a relational ethics lens to explore how persons with arthritis experienced changes in their relationship with a health professional when using a wearable during research participation.

Facets of family achievement guilt for low-income, Latinx and Asian first-generation students.

Objectives: For many low-income, Latinx and Asian first-generation students, family is a central motivator for obtaining a college degree. Yet, striving for upward mobility yields unanticipated psychological consequences. Specifically, family achievement guilt is a socioemotional experience related to "leaving family" to attend college. As a relatively understudied phenomenon, prior work has likely underrepresented the ways low-income, Latinx and Asian first-generation students experience guilt in the university. To address this gap, the current study aimed to refine the concept of family achievement guilt by exploring its different facets. Method: We utilized in-depth, semistructured interviews with 34 low-income, Latinx and Asian first-generation students. Results: Using both inductive and deductive analytic methods, we constructed four facets of guilt. Participants shared feeling guilt related to leaving family behind, having more privileges in the university context, becoming culturally different than family members, and experiencing financial distress. Conclusions: Unpacking family achievement guilt experiences of a fast-growing student population contributes to our understanding of theory and of possible support mechanisms. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Emotion profiles among adolescent female athletes: Associations with flourishing

Many girls who participate in sport struggle to negotiate the complex relationship between their desired appearance and maintaining a physique that facilitates performance. As a result, these athletes experience a range of emotions about their bodies that impact their psychological well-being. We examined appearance- and fitness-related emotions using latent profile analysis among 507 adolescent girls involved in organized sport and examined differences in flourishing across the resulting profiles. Four emotion profiles were identified: (i) Frequent Pride, (ii) Occasional Fitness Pride, (iii) Occasional Pride, Rare Guilt/Shame, and (iv) Occasional Emotions. Participants in the Occasional Emotions profile reported the lowest flourishing scores compared to every other profile while those in the Frequent Pride profile reported the highest levels of flourishing. There were no differences in flourishing between those in the Occasional Fitness Pride profile and those in the Occasional Pride, Rare Guilt/Shame profile. Our results demonstrate how subsets of athletes may characteristically experience distinct combinations of emotions that are differentially associated with flourishing. Increasing experiences of body-related pride while mitigating experiences of guilt and shame appear to be important contributors to flourishing. However, experiences of pride may do little to buffer against reductions in flourishing when guilt and shame are experienced.

Compassion in custody: developing a trauma sensitive intervention for men with developmental disabilities who have convictions for sexual offending

PurposeThis paper aims to provide a description of a trauma sensitive intervention for men who have committed sexual offences. The intervention aims to support men to process and make sense of their own experience of trauma before inviting them to acknowledge their role in causing harm to others. The intervention draws on compassion focussed therapy (CFT) as the overarching therapeutic modality.Design/methodology/approachAs part of a service evaluation changes in routine repeat measures completed by service users were analysed prior to joining the intervention and after 12 months of intervention. Service users were encouraged to provide regular feedback relating to their experience of the intervention at regular intervals. This feedback was collated and patterns were identified collaboratively to understand the context for assessed change in the measures.FindingsPrior to the intervention men reported high levels of shame and limited experiences of guilt (as compassion for others). Early findings indicate that men experience less shame and increased experiences of guilt after 12 months. An increase in insight into risk was also evident. Service user feedback pointed towards a more engaging therapeutic style and highlighted the importance of both a collaborative and trauma sensitive approach.Originality/valueThis is the first evaluative description of forensic CFT for sexual offending. Findings offer insight into potential future directions for forensic interventions with this population.

Autonomic factors do not underlie the elevated self-disgust levels in Parkinson's disease.

IntroductionParkinson’s disease (PD) is manifested along with non-motor symptoms such as impairments in basic emotion regulation, recognition and expression. Yet, self-conscious emotion (SCEs) such as self-disgust, guilt and shame are under-investigated. Our previous research indicated that Parkinson patients have elevated levels of self-reported and induced self-disgust. However, the cause of that elevation–whether lower level biophysiological factors, or higher level cognitive factors, is unknown.MethodsTo explore the former, we analysed Skin Conductance Response (SCR, measuring sympathetic activity) amplitude and high frequency Heart Rate Variability (HRV, measuring parasympathetic activity) across two emotion induction paradigms, one involving narrations of personal experiences of self-disgust, shame and guilt, and one targeting self-disgust selectively via images of the self. Both paradigms had a neutral condition.ResultsPhoto paradigm elicited significant changes in physiological responses in patients relative to controls—higher percentages of HRV in the high frequency range but lower SCR amplitudes, with patients to present lower responses compared to controls. In the narration paradigm, only guilt condition elicited significant SCR differences between groups.ConclusionsConsequently, lower level biophysiological factors are unlikely to cause elevated self-disgust levels in Parkinson’s disease, which by implication suggests that higher level cognitive factors may be responsible.

Infant feeding and internalized stigma: The role of guilt and shame

AbstractGlobally the rates of breastfeeding duration are extremely low and postnatal mental health issues are common. As a result, it is important to examine the emotions that underlie these matters. Across two studies (one correlational study N = 160 and one experimental study N = 118), we examined participants’ experiences of shame and guilt when feeding their baby, and the relationship between these emotions with breastfeeding behaviors and internalized stigma. We also examined the psychosocial factors that predict internalized stigma, and whether shame and guilt mediate these relationships. We focused on three factors that have been shown to be associated with internalized stigma in other domains: self‐esteem and social support (Study 1), as well as self‐efficacy (Study 2). Multiple regression revealed that experienced guilt uniquely predicted a shorter duration of exclusive breastfeeding (Study 1). Higher self‐efficacy (Study 2), self‐esteem, and perceived social support (Study 1) predicted lower internalized stigma of feeding choice. We found that shame was a mediator for the self‐esteem and internalized stigma relationship (Study 1), while guilt was a mediator for the self‐efficacy and internalized stigma relationship (Study 2). Our findings highlight the importance of experienced shame and guilt in mothers’ infant feeding experiences. The current results can inform future research and the design of interventions to improve breastfeeding rates and reduce feelings of stigma.

The Experience of Sex Guilt: The Roles of Parenting, Adult Attachment, and Sociosexuality

Sociosexuality, comfort with sex outside the confines of a committed relationship, and parent–child dynamics have been associated with experiences of sex guilt. However, the mechanisms through which family dynamics are related to sociosexuality and sex guilt are still unclear. Using a developmental framework, in a cross-sectional study, we examined whether attachment styles and parent–child relationships would be associated with the development and maintenance of sociosexuality. We hypothesized that insecure attachment styles and sociosexuality would independently and positively mediate the relationship between parent–child relationship quality (accepting/rejecting) and sex guilt. Findings support past research and suggests that parental rejection predicts insecure attachments, which positively predicts unrestricted sociosexuality, and in turn, is negatively associated with sex guilt. This could suggest that sociosexuality may act as a buffer for sex guilt among this sample.

Feeling of guilt explains why people react differently to resource depletion warnings

Despite insistent warnings from climate scientists, the global environmental situation is further deteriorating. To date, only very few studies have investigated the impact of warnings on sustainable decision-making in controlled laboratory settings. Moreover, the few existing studies mainly looked at average warning reactions rather than taking individual differences into account. Here, we investigated individual differences in the reaction to resource depletion warnings and scrutinized the impact of emotions on behavioural changes by applying a resource dilemma task with warnings. Data-driven and model-free cluster analyses identified four different types of consumption behaviour. Importantly, guilt was positively related to sustainable decision-making after warnings. In contrast, a lack of guilt was associated with no behavioural change or even worse with more unsustainable behaviour after warnings. These findings contribute to the debate over effective climate change communication by demonstrating that issuing warnings about the climate crisis only leads to the intended behavioural changes if people experience guilt.

“False positive” emotions, responsibility, and moral character

People often feel guilt for accidents—negative events that they did not intend or have any control over. Why might this be the case? Are there reputational benefits to doing so? Across six studies, we find support for the hypothesis that observers expect “false positive” emotions from agents during a moral encounter – emotions that are not normatively appropriate for the situation but still trigger in response to that situation. For example, if a person accidentally spills coffee on someone, most normative accounts of blame would hold that the person is not blameworthy, as the spill was accidental. Self-blame (and the guilt that accompanies it) would thus be an inappropriate response. However, in Studies 1–2 we find that observers rate an agent who feels guilt, compared to an agent who feels no guilt, as a better person, as less blameworthy for the accident, and as less likely to commit moral offenses. These attributions of moral character extend to other moral emotions like gratitude, but not to nonmoral emotions like fear, and are not driven by perceived differences in overall emotionality (Study 3). In Study 4, we demonstrate that agents who feel extremely high levels of inappropriate (false positive) guilt (e.g., agents who experience guilt but are not at all causally linked to the accident) are not perceived as having a better moral character, suggesting that merely feeling guilty is not sufficient to receive a boost in judgments of character. In Study 5, using a trust game design, we find that observers are more willing to trust others who experience false positive guilt compared to those who do not. In Study 6, we find that false positive experiences of guilt may actually be a reliable predictor of underlying moral character: self-reported predicted guilt in response to accidents negatively correlates with higher scores on a psychopathy scale.

Athlete Experiences of Shame and Guilt: Initial Psychometric Properties of the Athletic Perceptions of Performance Scale Within Junior Elite Cricketers.

Guilt and shame are self-conscious emotions with implications for mental health, social and occupational functioning, and the effectiveness of sports practice. To date, the assessment and role of athlete-specific guilt and shame has been under-researched. Reporting data from 174 junior elite cricketers (M = 17.34 years; females n = 85), the present study utilized exploratory factor analysis in validating the Athletic Perceptions of Performance Scale (APPS), assessing three distinct and statistically reliable factors: athletic shame-proneness, guilt-proneness, and no-concern. Conditional process analysis indicated that APPS shame-proneness mediated the relationship between general and athlete-specific distress (p < 0.01), with this pathway non-contingent on sex or past 12-month help-seeking for mental health concerns (p's > 0.05). While APPS domains of guilt-proneness and no-concern were not significant mediators, they exhibited correlations in the expected direction with indices of psychological distress and well-being. The APPS may assist coaches and support staff identify players who may benefit from targeted interventions to reduce the likelihood of experiencing shame-prone states.