Guilt and shame in children and adolescents: a narrative study on situational antecedents

Situational antecedents of guilt and shame were examined by asking children and adolescents for written narratives of autobiographical episodes. Participants were 160 subjects, 80 children (8-10.11-year olds; M = 9,8; SD = 0,7) and 80 adolescents (14-18-year olds; M = 15,7; SD = 1,7), with typical development, recruited in schools located in Milan and hinterland, from middle class. Participants of the two age groups were equally divided by gender. On the basis of developmental literature, it was predicted to find differences as a function of age, type of emotion and gender. A content analysis was carried out and chi square test was performed. Comparing age groups, a significant change of situational antecedents was found for guilt (p = .001), since emotional antecedents were more focused on the importance of relationship for adolescents, whereas they were more related to behaviors and rules violations for children. On the contrary, gender differences were found only for shame narratives (p= .04), since emotional antecedents were more focused to behaviors and performances for males, whereas they were especially connected to inner feelings and intra-personal contents for females.