Shame is bad and guilt is good: An examination of the impaired control over drinking pathway to alcohol use and related problems
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Tension Reduction Theory (Kushner et al., 1994) suggests alcohol is used as a means to alleviate negative affect (NA) such as shame and guilt. Shame is an internalized response in which blame is placed on the self, while guilt is not internalized and the blame is placed on the situation (Dearing et al., 2005). This study aims to investigate relationships of shame and guilt to alcohol use and problems through the mechanisms of multiple facets of impulsivity (i.e. UPPS) and impaired control over drinking (IC), which reflect behavioral control processes. The sample consisted of 419 college students (53% female). We examined direct and indirect relationships of shame and guilt on alcohol use and related problems through facets of impulsivity and IC. Shame and guilt were found to diverge (Woien et al., 2003). We found that those higher on shame-proneness used more alcohol and experienced more alcohol-related problems through increased negative urgency and IC. Conversely, guilt-prone individuals used less alcohol and experienced fewer alcohol-related problems through less negative urgency and IC. Our findings suggest that guilt is an adaptive form of negative affect, particularly when it comes to alcohol-related outcomes.
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Impulsive aggression, particularly when expressed in socially inappropriate or uncontrolled ways, often elicits shame and guilt among perpetrators, contributing to negative self-concept and enduring perceptions of personal defectiveness.
“Impulsive aggression, particularly when expressed in socially inappropriate or uncontrolled ways, often elicits shame and guilt among perpetrators (Griffin et al. 2016), contributing to negative self-concept and enduring perceptions of personal defectiveness (Dearing et al. 2005; Patock-Peckham et al. 2018; Luoma et al. 2019).”
From Decoding the bidirectional links between alcohol misuse and aggression: toward a unified translational framework (2026) · cites this paper as Patock-Peckham et al. 2018
The Introduction (page unavailable) describes shame as internalized negative feeling toward oneself, associated with feelings of inferiority and a desire to conceal deficiencies. That supports the negative-self-concept aspect of the clause attributed to this paper, but the copy does not establish enduring perceptions of defectiveness; it also distinguishes guilt as not internalized. (LLM, conf=0.85)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredStructural equation modeling supports a pathway in which shame contributes to alcohol misuse through heightened negative urgency and impaired self-regulatory control.
“Structural equation modeling supports a pathway in which shame contributes to alcohol misuse through heightened negative urgency and impaired self-regulatory control (Patock-Peckham et al. 2018).”
From Decoding the bidirectional links between alcohol misuse and aggression: toward a unified translational framework (2026) · cites this paper as Patock-Peckham et al. 2018
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Cites
Guilt: An interpersonal approach
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Russell, N. M., Frier, M. D., Bortolato, M., & Mangieri, R. A. (2026) · Psychopharmacology · doi:10.1007/s00213-025-06938-0 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
- Authors
- Patock-Peckham, J. A., Canning, J. R., & Leeman, R. F.
- Affiliations
- Arizona State University (US)
- Yale University (US)
- Venue
- Personality and Individual Differences
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2018-01
- Volume
- 121
- Pages
- 62-66
- ISSN
- 0191-8869 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC5755601
- OpenAlex
- W2756656386
- Cited by
- 43
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 1
- FWCI
- 3.53
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Personality and Individual Differences (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- NIH (K01AA024160-01A1, FP11815)
- Burton Family Foundation
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Emotions and Moral Behavior
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Epidemiology › Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- shame, guilt, alcohol consumption, alcohol-related problems, negative urgency, negative affect, university students, shame proneness, guilt proneness
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