Guilt Reduction Research Articles

Having less or saving more: the role of social responsibility perception in reducing guilt over luxury purchases

PurposeThis paper aims to challenge the notion that “having-less” – limiting consumption of scarce resources to a select few – represents a social responsibility route toward guilt reduction. It rather argues that “saving-more” – the purposeful pursuit of conscious and collaborative consumption – captures consumers’ true representations of responsible luxury which in turn reduces anticipated guilt.Design/methodology/approachSix experiments using different operationalizations of saving-more (vs. having-less) and a mix of fictitious and real luxury brands were conducted on real luxury buyers.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that saving-more (vs. having-less) leads to a stronger purchase intention; an effect explained by a higher responsible luxury perception and lower anticipated guilt associated with saving-more (vs. having-less). Furthermore, the ability of saving-more (vs. having-less) in building responsible luxury perception and reducing anticipated guilt is stronger (vs. weaker) when luxury is distributed based on deservingness (vs. entitlement).Research limitations/implicationsThis research proposes a novel distinction between two responsible luxury approaches: promoting limited consumption for business goals, that is, having-less and promoting conscious consumption for societal goals, that is, saving-more.Practical implicationsBrand managers can enhance responsible luxury perception and reduce consumer guilt through corporate communication, product communication and collaborative product accessibility modes. Managers must also convince consumers that their access to luxury is based on real achievements.Originality/valueThis study empirically invalidates the notion that merely invoking scarcity and rarity tactics is an expression of social responsibility. It integrates social responsibility and fairness accounts of guilt into a coherent theory of guilt over luxury consumption.

When secrets come to mind: Preoccupation, suppression and engagement

AbstractWhen secrets come to mind, do people try to suppress them or do they engage with them? Whereas earlier research suggested that people try to suppress secrets, recent work suggests that people often engage with their secrets. Although thought suppression tends to be associated with greater distress, engagement may be ameliorative. In two longitudinal studies of 653 adults (55% women; Mage = 41.3, SD = 12.4) keeping a secret from their partner, we show that engagement with and suppression of secrets are highly positively related. Like suppression, the more people engage with secrets, the more negative affect and guilt they report feeling. Longitudinal analyses indicate that whereas changes over time in engagement and suppression both predicted reduced secret preoccupation, reductions in suppression (but not engagement) mediated reductions in guilt and negative affect. These results indicate that suppression and engagement are more intimately connected than previously thought. We found no evidence that engagement was ameliorative.

Effect of Yogic Intervention in Psychological Wellbeing (Parental Guilt, Psychological Distress, Anxiety, and Self-esteem) of Working Mothers

Background - Motherhood brings a lot of challenges especially for employed women worldwide. They face difficulties both at home and at the workplace. Eventually, they end up with emotional and psychological disturbances that lead to even compromise their career in some cases. Purpose - The objective of the study was to assess the effects of Yogic Intervention on parental guilt, psychological distress, anxiety, and self-esteem in working mothers. Methods - A sample of 39 working mothers (age 30 to 50) from different professions having symptoms of guilt, distress, and anxiety, had participated in a Randomized controlled trial pre-post experiment. They were allocated to the Yoga group (n = 22), had a 1-hour session, 5 days in a week for 1 month, and to the Control group (n = 17) with no such intervention. The measures included Guilt about Parenting Scale, Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, and Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale. Results - showed a significant difference in the reduction of parental guilt (p = .039), psychological distress (p = .014), and anxiety (p = .012) in the yoga group compared to the control group. In the case of self-esteem on average, the score had improved but was not significant enough. Conclusion - Regular practice of simple asanas with proper breathing, pranayamas, meditation, and relaxation techniques improve the mental and psychological health of working mothers. Further study is recommended with more sample count and a comparative study between working and non-working mothers can be executed.

Effectiveness of currently available psychotherapies for post-traumatic stress disorder and future directions.

Effectiveness of currently available psychotherapies for post-traumatic stress disorder and future directions.

Trauma-Informed Guilt Reduction Therapy: Overview of the Treatment and Research.

Purpose of ReviewThe purpose of this review is to describe Trauma-Informed Guilt Reduction Therapy (TrIGR), the Non-Adaptive Guilt and Shame (NAGS) model that underlies TrIGR, and the research supporting the use of TrIGR to treat the guilt and shame components of moral injury. TriGR is a 6-session individual psychotherapy that helps clients consider their role in the traumatic event and find constructive ways to express important values, so that they no longer need to express values by suffering through guilt and shame.Recent FindingsA recently completed randomized controlled trial of TrIGR versus supportive care therapy included 144 post-9/11 veterans. TriGR showed greater reductions in trauma-related guilt, PTSD symptoms, and depression symptoms. Participants in TrIGR had greater likelihood of losing their PTSD diagnosis and showing clinical meaningful change in PTSD and depression symptoms. Mean attendance was high; 5.3 out of 6 sessions.SummaryTrIGR is efficacious in reducing guilt that is common to moral injury as well as PTSD and depression symptoms among combat veterans. The next steps in the program of research to develop and evaluate TrIGR are studies with diverse trauma types and populations as well as relative effectiveness studies comparing TrIGR to other evidence-based treatments for moral injury and PTSD.

Guilt Focused Intervention for Family Caregivers. Preliminary Results of a Randomized Clinical Trial

ABSTRACT Objectives A pilot randomized controlled trial study was conducted for testing the efficacy of a novel Guilt Focused Intervention (GFI), that was compared with a Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (CBI) for caregivers of people with dementia with high levels of guilt and distress. Methods Participants were 42 caregivers who were randomized assigned to the intervention conditions. Results Participants in the GFI showed significant reductions in depression, anxiety, and guilt at posttreatment and follow-up. Participants in the CBI presented reductions in anxiety and guilt at posttreatment and follow-up. Clinically significant change for guilt was found in 62.5% in the GFI and 9.09% in the CBI group at posttreatment. At follow-up, 58.33% in GFI and 12.5% in the CBI group were recovered. Conclusions The preliminary results of this pilot study suggest that caregivers with significant levels of guilt and distress might benefit from an intervention specifically designed to target guilt feelings. Clinical Implications A novel and initial intervention approach specifically designed for targeting caregivers’ feelings of guilt might have the potential to reduce caregiver’s emotional distress.

A clinical trial comparing trauma-informed guilt reduction therapy (TrIGR), a brief intervention for trauma-related guilt, to supportive care therapy.

Trauma-related guilt is common, associated with posttraumatic mental health problems, and can persist after posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) treatment. We compared the efficacy of two six-session psychotherapies, Trauma-Informed Guilt Reduction (TrIGR) and Supportive Care Therapy (SCT), for reducing trauma-related guilt. TrIGR helps patients accurately appraise their role in the trauma and re-engage in values. In SCT, patients guide session content. A total of 184 veterans seeking VA mental health services were enrolled across two sites; 145 veterans (mean age: 39.2 [8.1]; 92.4% male; 84.8% with PTSD) who endorsed guilt related to a traumatic event that occurred during a post 9/11 Iraq or Afghanistan deployment were randomized and assessed at baseline, posttreatment, 3- and 6-month follow-up. Linear mixed models using intent-to-treat analyses showed guilt decreased in both conditions with a greater decrease for TrIGR (treatment × time, -0.22; F 1, 455.2 = 18.49, p = .001; d = 0.92) than supportive therapy. PTSD and depressive symptoms showed the same pattern. TrIGR had significantly higher likelihood of PTSD treatment response (67% vs. 40%), loss of PTSD diagnosis (50% vs. 14%), and meaningful change in depression (54% vs. 27%) than supportive therapy. Psychological distress and trait shame improved in both conditions. Quality of life did not change. Targeting guilt appears to be an effective means for reducing posttraumatic symptoms and distress.

Mother-infant contact after birth can reduce postpartum post-traumatic stress symptoms through a reduction in birth-related fear and guilt

ObjectivesDespite the well-documented negative effects of posttraumatic stress symptoms following childbirth (PTSS-FC), research on protective factors for PTSS-FC is still missing. Aiming to fill this gap, we proposed and examined a process model through which maternal-infant skin-to-skin contact after birth reduces PTSS-FC by decreasing negative emotions, especially for women who had operative births. MethodIn this longitudinal study, pregnant women (N = 1833) were recruited at community and hospital medical centres in the center of Israel and through internet forums. At Time 1, during pregnancy, they rated their prenatal depressive symptoms which served as an indicator for prenatal vulnerabilities. At Time 2, two-months postpartum (N = 1371, 75% of the sample), they reported their mode of birth, whether they had skin-to-skin contact with their newborn after birth, their emotions during birth, and rated their current PTSS-FC. A moderated mediation analysis was used to examine the proposed model. ResultsGuilt and fear during birth mediated the association between mode of birth (instrumental or cesarean versus vaginal) and PTSS-FC. Skin-to-skin contact was related to reduced feelings of guilt and fear during birth, especially for women who had a cesarean section. ConclusionsOur results recognize the specific emotions that contribute to the development of PTSS-FC following operative births and show how skin-to-skin contact can possibly reduce them. As such they emphasize the importance of the implementation of skin-to-skin contact following childbirth, and especially following a cesarean section as recommended by the Baby Friendly Health Initiative (World Health Organization & UNICEF, 2009).

Reductions in guilt cognitions following prolonged exposure and/or sertraline predict subsequent improvements in PTSD and depression

Background and objectivesReduction of trauma related negative cognitions, such as guilt, is thought to be a mechanism of change within PTSD treatments like prolonged exposure (PE). Research suggests PE can directly address guilt cognitions. However, whether pharmacotherapies for PTSD can remains unclear. MethodsData from a randomized controlled trial of PE plus placebo (PE + PLB), sertraline plus enhanced medication management (SERT + EMM), and their combination (PE + SERT) in 195 Veterans from recent wars was analyzed. ResultsThe unadjusted means and mixed-effects model showed guilt decreased significantly over the follow-up time as expected; however, contrary to our hypothesis, PE conditions were not associated with greater reductions in guilt than the SERT + EMM condition. As hypothesized, week 12 reduction in guilt predicted post-treatment (weeks 24–52) reduction in PTSD and depression, but not impairments in function. LimitationsGeneralizability of findings is limited by the sample being comprised of combat Veterans who were predominantly male, not on SSRI at study entry, willing to be randomized to therapy or medication, and reporting low levels of guilt. To reduce differences in provider attention, SERT + EMM was administered over 30 min to include psychoeducation and active listening; it is unknown if this contributed to effects on guilt. ConclusionsPE + PLB, SERT + EMM, and PE + SERT were equally associated with reduction in trauma related guilt. Reducing trauma related guilt may be a pathway to reducing PTSD and posttraumatic depression symptoms. Further study is needed to determine how best to treat trauma related guilt and to understand the mechanisms by which guilt improves across different treatments for PTSD.

Empowering Through Psychodrama: A Qualitative Study at Domestic Violence Shelters.

Psychodrama is a therapeutic method in which the stage is used to enact and reenact life events with the aim of instilling, among other positive changes, hope and empowerment in a wide range of populations suffering from psychological duress. The therapeutic process in psychodrama moves away from the classic treatment of the individual in isolation to treatment of the individual in the context of a group. In domestic violence situations, in which abusive men seek to socially isolate their victims from family and friends, the social support that psychodrama provides can positively influence the psychological health and well-being of the participants. This qualitative study examines the manner in which psychodramatic treatment can empower abused women residing in domestic violence shelters and help them regain control of their lives. An action research study of domestic violence survivors living in a women's shelter in Israel, over a 12-month period, demonstrates the role of psychodrama therapy in promoting the reduction of anxiety, stress, guilt, and self-blame, while reinforcing perceptions of self-worth and confidence. These findings contribute to our understanding of the potential of psychodrama in helping reshape life roles and reframe experiences within a creative process, with the aim of facilitating a transition from powerlessness to powerfulness among vulnerable populations.

Guilt of the Meat‐Eating Consumer: When Animal Anthropomorphism Leads to Healthy Meat Dish Choices

Despite increasing concerns about animal welfare and the general prevalence of meat‐eating practices, little attention has been paid in the consumer behavior literature to understanding consumer guilt around meat consumption. This research fills this void by exploring how consumers behave when animals are anthropomorphized, which can cause moral concerns to arise regarding the harm inflicted upon animals. We found that animal anthropomorphism can reduce meat consumption when consumers already have a low commitment to eating meat. However, the majority of consumers do not reduce their meat consumption in the face of animal anthropomorphism. Instead, they choose healthier meat dishes over less healthy but tastier meat dishes because the health benefits of meat consumption provide a strong excuse for eating meat, thereby dissipating their guilt about animal suffering. We demonstrate that guilt reduction is the underlying process mechanism and that the humane treatment of meat animals, which alleviates guilt about animal suffering, attenuates the effect of animal anthropomorphism on the choice of healthy meat dishes.

Trauma Informed Guilt Reduction (TrIGR) therapy for guilt, shame, and moral injury resulting from trauma: Rationale, design, and methodology of a two-site randomized controlled trial

Guilt, shame, and moral injury (MI) are common reactions following exposure to traumatic events and are associated with greater severity of several mental health problems, including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, increased risk of suicidal ideation and poorer psychosocial functioning. Trauma-Informed Guilt Reduction (TrIGR) is a transdiagnostic psychotherapy to address guilt, shame, and MI stemming from traumatic events. The primary goals of TrIGR are to help patients accurately appraise their trauma and to re-engage with their values in order to lead a more meaningful life. This paper presents the rationale, design, and methodology of a two-site randomized controlled trial (RCT) examining the efficacy of TrIGR compared to Supportive Care Therapy (SCT) in a sample of U.S. veterans (N = 145) who endorse guilt related to a traumatic event that occurred during military deployment. This study is the first RCT powered to investigate TrIGR's efficacy on reducing posttraumatic guilt, as measured by the Trauma Related Guilt Inventory (TRGI), in comparison to an active control condition. In addition, the study will examine a range of secondary and exploratory outcomes including shame, quality of life, suicidal ideation, substance use, and PTSD and depression symptoms. Findings from this efficacy study will be essential in informing future efficacy and effectiveness trials.

Feasibility and acceptability of an online acceptance and commitment therapy group for parents caring for a child with cerebral palsy

ABSTRACT This study explored the feasibility and acceptability of a videoconferencing group psychotherapy intervention for parents of children living with cerebral palsy. A six-session Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) intervention called Take a Breath was provided. Participants were 26 parents of children aged 12 months to nine years, with severe cerebral palsy. Parents responded to questionnaires at three time-points; baseline, pre-intervention, and post-intervention. Qualitative responses were recorded in response to a structured item asking about benefits of participating in the intervention. Of those enrolled, 90% of parents attended the minimum required sessions and 35% attended all six sessions. Quantitative results revealed significant reductions in guilt and worry, and increased mindfulness, which echoed parents’ qualitative responses. The pilot findings suggest the Take a Breath intervention is a feasible and acceptable approach to providing mental health services to parents who face significant daily challenges and barriers to engaging support. Larger scale studies are warranted.

The influence of moral disengagement on responses to climate change

Notions of moral responsibility and ethical obligation pervade social and political discourse about climate change in Australia. However, comparatively little is known about the importance of moral considerations in people’s mitigative and adaptive behaviours. Here, we draw on Bandura’s concept of moral disengagement to explore this issue. We conducted two nationally representative online surveys, 12 months apart. Participants were 5,030 Australian residents, of whom 1,355 participated in both surveys. We found that levels of moral engagement mediate between (a) opinions about the causes of climate change and pro‐environmental behaviour, (b) individual response efficacy and pro‐environmental behaviour, and (c) responsibility for causing climate change and pro‐environmental behaviour. Moreover, people placed more responsibility on groups and organisations, and less on individuals, for both causing and responding to climate change, regardless of their opinion on the causes of climate change. Longitudinal analyses showed that those who became more sceptical about anthropogenic climate change also became less morally engaged. Relatedly, those who became less morally engaged reported feeling less guilty about climate change, though there was evidence suggesting that this relationship is bidirectional. We suggest that moral disengagement is a key mechanism through which reductions in both effortful behaviour and guilt are achieved.

Obeying orders reduces vicarious brain activation towards victims’ pain

Past historical events and experimental research have shown complying with the orders from an authority has a strong impact on people's behaviour. However, the mechanisms underlying how obeying orders influences moral behaviours remain largely unknown. Here, we test the hypothesis that when male and female humans inflict a painful stimulation to another individual, their empathic response is reduced when this action complied with the order of an experimenter (coerced condition) in comparison with being free to decide to inflict that pain (free condition). We observed that even if participants knew that the shock intensity delivered to the ‘victim’ was exactly the same during coerced and free conditions, they rated the shocks as less painful in the coerced condition. MRI results further indicated that obeying orders reduced activity associated with witnessing the shocks to the victim in the ACC, insula/IFG, TPJ, MTG and dorsal striatum (including the caudate and the putamen) as well as neural signatures of vicarious pain in comparison with being free to decide. We also observed that participants felt less responsible and showed reduced activity in a multivariate neural guilt signature in the coerced than in the free condition, suggesting that this reduction of neural response associated with empathy could be linked to a reduction of felt responsibility and guilt. These results highlight that obeying orders has a measurable influence on how people perceive and process others’ pain. This may help explain how people's willingness to perform moral transgressions is altered in coerced situations.

A model for treating COVID-19-related guilt, shame, and moral injury.

During the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, people around the world have faced a myriad of heart-rending and ethically difficult scenarios (e.g., not being able to tend to a sick or dying loved one) that may lead to subsequent guilt, shame, or moral injury. Trauma-informed guilt reduction therapy is a brief intervention that helps clients accurately appraise their role in a stressful event (such as those experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic) and find positive ways to express important values going forward. Future studies of trauma-informed guilt reduction therapy with those affected by COVID-19 will be helpful for clarifying its effectiveness with this population. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Guilt in the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Active Duty Military Personnel.

The current study examined the role of trauma-related guilt on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptom change during prolonged exposure therapy (PE) as well as the efficacy of PE in reducing three dimensions of guilt (responsibility, wrongdoing, and lack of justification) during treatment. Participants were 331 active duty U.S. military personnel seeking treatment for PTSD who were randomized to one of four groups: massed PE (10 sessions delivered over 2 weeks), spaced PE (10 sessions delivered over 8 weeks), present-centered therapy (PCT; 10 sessions delivered over 8 weeks), or minimal contact control (MCC; weekly therapist phone check-in for 4 weeks). The results showed that baseline guilt did not predict reductions in PTSD symptoms for spaced PE or for PCT, ps = .178-.387, ds = -0.02-0.07. Treatment condition (massed PE vs. MCC; spaced PE vs. PCT) did not moderate reductions in guilt for spaced PE versus PCT. Guilt decreased significantly over treatment in all groups, p < .001 to p = .038, ds = -0.19 to -0.42, except concerning justification in the spaced PE and PCT groups, p = .140, d = -0.10. The findings suggest that guilt may be reduced significantly following active PTSD treatment and attention control and that PTSD recovery is not impacted by baseline levels of trauma-related guilt in military personnel with PTSD, although reported levels of guilt were low to moderate in this sample.

Path Tortuosity in Virtual Reality: A Novel Approach for Quantifying Behavioral Process in a Food Choice Context.

There is a pressing need to better understand how parents make feeding decisions for their children, but extant measures focus primarily on outcomes rather than examining the process of food choice as it unfolds. This exploratory study examined parents' translational movement as they moved throughout a virtual reality-based buffet restaurant to select a lunch for their child. Our aim was to explore whether translational movement would be related to cognitive and affective variables that underlie motivation, effort, and ultimate choices within food decision-making contexts (e.g., guilt, self-efficacy). Movement data were quantified in terms of path tortuosity: the degree of straightness of one's path while traveling through a space. Greater path tortuosity predicted a reduction in parents' guilt about their child feeding, above and beyond actual food chosen. Results suggest path tortuosity serves as an implicit measure of effort put forth by parents throughout the food decision-making process. Future work should continue to explore the utility of novel metrics that can be obtained from unique data sources, such as location tracking, for elucidating complicated behavioral processes such as food choice.

Prospective associations between DSM-5 PTSD symptom clusters and suicidal ideation in treatment-seeking veterans.

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) rates are higher in military veterans than in the civilian population. Meta-analyses have found strong and consistent associations between PTSD and suicide risk. Several studies have demonstrated a concurrent reduction in suicidal ideation (SI) with reduction of PTSD symptoms during trauma-focused treatment. However, it is unclear whether changes in specific PTSD symptom clusters are most strongly associated with these changes in SI. This study prospectively examined associations between PTSD symptom clusters and SI to better specify mechanisms of change during treatment. Participants were 160 veterans (87% male, 63% Caucasian, 64% combat trauma) who completed a course of evidence-based trauma-focused therapy at a VA hospital. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist-5 were used to assess depression, SI frequency, and PTSD symptoms. Binary logistic regression analyses found that the cognitive/mood alteration cluster was the only significant independent predictor of SI at termination. Post hoc analysis of variance Bonferroni tests indicated those who decreased SI frequency had a greater reduction in intrusive, cognitive/mood alteration, and hyperarousal symptoms relative to those who increased or had no change in SI. A within-cluster item analysis revealed that baseline symptom D3 (blame self/others) was the only significant independent predictor for baseline SI, whereas baseline symptom D6 (detachment) was the only significant independent predictor for SI at termination. This discrepancy may be explained by reductions in guilt during treatment, as 79% of the sample elected to receive cognitive processing therapy. Given these associations, PTSD patients with SI may benefit from a treatment emphasis on reducing cognitive/mood alteration symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Gestalt Counseling with Empty Chair Technique to Reduce Guilt among Adolescents at Risk

Adolescent is defined as a period of transitional development from childhood to adulthood. This transition also requires adolescents to make some adjustment. Those who cannot adjust themselves to the transition may induce guilt in them. Guilt is an emotion that follows after a negative behavior. Gestalt counseling with empty chair technique can help counselees finish their "unfinished business", and one of the unfinished businesses is guilt. The research aims to test the effectiveness of Gestalt counseling with empty chair technique to reduce guilt among adolescents at risk. It adopted the quantitative approach with single subject research method. The sample was taken with a purposive sampling technique. The population included 16 adolescents at Yayasan Rumah Tumbuh Harapan in Bandung in 2018, with three adolescents with a high level of guilt as samples. Data were taken using Guilt Instrument. The research employed the A-B design. The results show a significant reduction of guilt based on the mean score in the baseline test and the mean score after the intervention. The mean baseline score of counselee ES was 67.01, and after the intervention, the score fell to 50.19; the mean baseline score of counselee FLO was 85.79 and went down to 76.72 after the intervention, and the mean baseline score of counselee PK was 77.64 and decreased to 63.91 after the intervention. Thus, it can be concluded that Gestalt counseling with empty chair technique is in general effective to reduce guilt.