Skambegreppet har kommit att bli allt mer betydelsefullt i mellanmänsklig interaktion. Syftet med föreliggande studie är att undersöka hur skam identifieras i terapirummet och vilka vägar som kan tänkas finnas till skamlindring/skambefrielse. Fem intervjuer med fem terapeuter har genomförts. Tre av dessa arbetar i kyrklig kontext och två i sekulär. Två av frågorna i intervjuguiden har berört skam och skuld. Arbetet har den kvalitativa intervjun som metod och intervjun har analyserats med hermeneutisk ansats. Resultatet visar på att skammen är svår att definiera i terapirummet då den är starkt känslomässigt negativ och döljs ofta genom olika strategier. Vägarna till skambefrielse inkluderar förståelse och acceptans. Några av slutsatserna som studien pekar på är vikten av att terapeuter är väl införstådda med vad skam innebär i deras egna liv för att kunna möta konfidenter med skamproblematik och att upplevelsen av att bli förstådd är en viktig del för att kunna anträda vägen mot skamlindring/skambefrielse. Vikten av att kyrkan kan välja att bidra med goda miljöer för att hantera skam både individuellt och kollektivt diskuteras i studien. / The shame concept has become increasingly important in our human interaction. The purpose of this essay is to examine how shame is identified in the therapy room and what ways that can be used to achieve shame relief/shame liberation. Five interviews with five different therapists have been made. Three of the therapists work in an ecclesial context and two in a secular setting. Two of the questions in the interview guide, evolves around the subjects shame and guilt. The qualitative method is applied to the interviews and they have been analyzed with a hermeneutic approach. The result of the essay indicates that shame is difficult to define in the therapy room since it is a strongly negative emotion and often hidden by different human strategies. The ways to shame liberation includes understanding and acceptance. Some of the conclusions in the essay argument the importance of the therapist’s awareness of what shame means in their own lives in order to encounter patients having problems with shame and that being understood is of high importance in the attempt towards shame relief/shame liberation. The significance of the church choosing to contribute good atmospheres for managing shame both individually and collectively is also discussed in the essay.

This dissertation presents three separate studies examining the effects of an individual's emotional response to their sexual initiation and their current feelings of sexual guilt. First, a systematic review of the literature is presented. From this review it was shown that previous research has found that an individual's response to his/her FSI experience has the potential to lead to later negative mental, physical and sexual health outcomes. However, limitations existed among and between studies. It was determined that a new measure of FSI emotional response was needed to minimize the limitations of previous measures which can be used consistently in future research. Criteria for such a measure are discussed. Second a new measure of an individual emotional response to his/her sexual initiation experience was constructed using the conclusions of the previous review of the literature. The validity of this measure was examined among a mixed gender sample of participants, asking participants to rate emotions currently and at the time of the event, using more sophisticated statistical analyses than previous research. Results provided evidence for the appropriateness of the measure as well as support for utilizing both time periods of questioning. It was found that individuals were able to make a distinction between these two time periods, providing separate and distinct factor structures. Implications of these results are discussed. Finally, utilizing the newly constructed measure, a structural equation model was created to examine the relationship between FSI emotional response and current sexual guilt. An individual's emotional response to his/her sexual initiation experience was found to be associated with his/her current degree of sexual guilt. Despite previous research suggesting the importance of the individual's age at the time of the sexual initiation event, it was found in the current study that this FSI emotional response was more strongly related to sexual guilt than age at FSI. The results highlight important relationships that must be further explored to better understand how youth and young adults respond to their sexual initiation and how this impacts their later sexual, physical, and mental health.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

Food and eating are often associated with both positive and negative emotions: pleasure and enjoyment, and also worry and guilt. Guilt has the potential to have both adaptive and maladaptive consequences on health behaviours. The present study aimed to further explore the relationship between a default association of guilt with a ‘forbidden’ food item (i.e., chocolate cake) and healthy eating behaviours, attitudes, intentions, and perceived behavioural control. Individual difference variables (self-control, self-compassion, and neuroticism) and stress were also examined in relation to guilt. This study investigated the influence of a default guilt association on hypothetical and actual food choices. The findings suggest that food-related guilt can have both adaptive and maladaptive consequences on healthy eating behaviours and on individual difference variables. Individuals with chocolate cake-guilt associations reported healthier eating intentions and higher perceived behavioural control in relation to healthy eating. Those with guilt associations did not report more positive attitudes toward healthy eating nor higher self-control. They reported lower levels of self-compassion and higher levels of neuroticism and perceived stress. In regard to a hypothetical food choice, no differences were found between those with guilt or celebration associations. With one exception, guilt did not have adaptive effects during a taste test in regard to sweet and savoury food intake and post-eating guilt. Self-control appeared to be a protective factor from the maladaptive effects of guilt: self-control moderated the relationship between a guilt association and healthy eating intentions and savoury food intake. The overall findings from this research indicate that an alternative approach to promoting healthy eating and living should be considered.

Research on identity fusion (Swann, Gomez, Seyle, & Morales, 2009), a recent phenomenological approach to social identification, suggests that some people have a deep personal bond with a group that they belong to. Evidence shows that fused people have a persistent connection between their group identity and personal selves. The notion of a social identity that is deeply entwined with the personal self stands in contrast to traditional views of social identification (e.g. Self-Categorization Theory; Turner, Oakes, Haslam, & McGarty, 1994), which tend to see group membership as something that is only important in particular group-related situations. Whereas most people are able to compartmentalize their identities based on the context they are in, a fused group identity can be active even in situations that are unrelated to it. The ability to compartmentalize may be beneficial in some cases, however. Downplaying an identity that is not active can allow people to insulate themselves from negative information about the group and can improve the quality of social interactions. Without the ability to compartmentalize, people who are fused with a group may have trouble with both of these things. Three studies tested whether fused people do indeed experience such repercussions. The first study presented University of Texas students with a fake news story describing the school hurting local family farmers. Participants who were highly identified with UT were more likely to feel guilty after reading the story, while participants who were highly fused with UT were more likely to engage in a subsequent charitable task (whether they read the news story or were in a control condition). In the second study, UT students were asked to chat with each other about a variety of topics, and have the quality of their interactions linguistically analyzed. The final study had UT students write about either their relationship with UT or with their immediate family. Participants who were more highly fused with UT were less likely to use words signifying negative emotion or uncertainty, but were more likely to use inclusive pronouns. Implications for future research on identity fusion are discussed. / text

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a significantly impairing anxiety disorder for which the most successful treatment, cognitive behaviour therapy, has 50-60% success rates, taking into account treatment refusals and dropout rates (Fisher & Wells, 2005). Thus, factors that contribute to the persistence of OCD and interfere with treatment are likely being overlooked. Indeed, Mancini and Gangemi (2004) have proposed that individuals with OCD have greater fear of guilt than others; that is, they dread being judged as guilty for not having done everything in their power to prevent some negative outcome. This fear of guilt fuels obsessions and compulsions as individuals attempt to prevent, avoid, or neutralise the feared guilt. However, few studies have explored fear of guilt in OCD, and no scales exist to measure this construct. The role of fear of guilt in OCD was therefore examined across two studies. Study 1 explored the core features of fear of guilt in OCD, as well as the validity and reliability of the Fear of Guilt Scale (FOGS), a measure developed specifically to assess levels of trait fear of guilt in OCD. Results indicate that the FOGS is a valid and reliable, two-factor measure, and greater FOGS scores significantly predict more severe OCD symptoms among nonclinical participants. Study 2 aimed to determine whether fear of guilt evokes caution and feelings of doubt during the decision-making process, thereby making it more difficult to know when to stop and explaining perseveratory behaviour, such as compulsions in OCD. Findings suggest that greater fear of guilt does not predict more time taken or information needed to make decisions, but higher fear of guilt predicts feelings of uncertainty when deliberating, as indicated by ratings of greater difficulty making decisions, lower confidence in having made the right decisions, and less satisfaction with decisions made. Implications of these findings and the role that fear of guilt may play in the development and persistence of OCD are discussed.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph.D.) in Psychology--University of Maine, 2004. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 119-134).

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Freiburg i. Br.

Thesis (M.C.S.)--Regent College, Vancouver, B.C., 1998. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 179-188).