The objective of this thesis is to make a psychological analysis of the protagonist, Shouya Ishida, in director Naoko Yamada’s movie Koe no Katachi. 12-year-old Ishida bullies a deaf transfer student because he does not know how to communicate with her. At some point this goes too far, resulting in her transferring out again, leaving Ishida as the target of the bullying from his classmates. The now 17-year-old Ishida, remorseful and depressed, plans to take his own life. But after an encounter with the girl whom he once bullied, he has a change of heart and instead tries to repent for his actions. I studied how the bullying first began and how the effects of it impacted Ishida’s life later on. I also analysed his guilt, shame and uses of defence mechanisms. Finally, I investigated the act of forgiving oneself. This thesis concludes that defence mechanisms heavily influence Ishida’s actions, both as a child and as a teen. Additionally, how his guilt and shame play a large role in damaging his ability to form new relationships and forgive himself for his past actions.

In modern times, there is an increasing tendency to use "us versus them" rhetoric in the political realm. Motivated reasoning literature offers a solution as to how group conflict contributes to outgroup bias. People may develop negative feelings towards outgroups in order to reduce cognitive dissonance and feel better about their judgments. Nevertheless, this is not the situation for everyone. My research aims to understand how peoples’ predisposed tendencies may affect the level of their out-group bias. Drawing from the distinction between shame (a negative sense of identity) and guilt (a response to a specific behavior) in psychology, I hypothesized that self-conscious emotions would moderate the relationship between information about in-group transgressions and out-group bias. To test this, I conducted a survey experiment with three different groups: Men/Women, White/Black people, and Democrats/Republicans. Participants were randomly assigned to watch videos depicting misbehavior from their respective group. Results showed that the proneness to self-conscious emotions did moderate the relationship to some extent, although the connection between shame and guilt proneness was more complex than anticipated. Criticizing one's in-group generally caused people to experience cognitive dissonance and reinforced out-group bias, particularly among those who were highly prone to both shame and guilt. The three-way interaction between treatment, shame proneness, and guilt proneness varied across and within the different identity categories, suggesting that there is no single theory that can entirely explain the degree of out-group bias. / Political Science

The moderation function of in-group status position on the relationship between group-based guilt and reparation intention was tested in a 2 (group-based guilt: low versus high) x 2 (status loss: weak versus strong) factorial between-subjects design, using an online survey software program named Qualtrics. The target population was white South African undergraduate students born after 1988 and registered at the University of South Africa. The results of the first Experiment confirmed the hypothesis, that the relationship between group-based guilt and reparation intention becomes less significant the more participants perceive a loss of status for their in-group. However, the hypothesis could not be confirmed in Experiment 2. The results are presented and discussed in detail / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

過去「罪惡感」相關的研究，大多集中在哲學、文學、心理學、宗教學的領域，在行銷的領域則甚少提及。即使有關於「消費罪惡感」的相關文獻，也只是將「消費罪惡感」當成影響消費者行為的一個變數來應用，並沒有對「消費罪惡感」本質作探討的相關研究。 因此，本研究先由第一階段的深度訪談，仔細探查「消費罪惡感」的元素、發生時機、情緒內涵、及其對消費者行為的影響，並發展出相關的命題。接著再根據第一階段所推導的相關命題，延伸至第二階段的量表發展。 第一階段深度訪談的25位受訪者包括了學生、上班族、銀髮族，年齡分佈在22-63歲，所描述的產品共57項。根據訪談的結果顯示，「消費罪惡感」可以分解為六種情緒：「猶豫感」、「不捨感」、「擔憂感」、「心虛感」、「後悔感」、「內疚感」。另外，「消費罪惡感」發生的時點除了購買前的「預期性消費罪惡感」以及購買後的「反應性消費罪惡感」外，還包括了購買中的「進行性消費罪惡感」。其中，「預期性消費罪惡感」的主要情緒為「猶豫感」、「進行性消費罪惡感」主要的情緒為「不捨感」、「反應性消費罪惡感」的主要情緒為「後悔感」及「內疚感」。至於「消費罪惡感」對消費者行為的影響方面，當消費者產生了「預期性消費罪惡感」會使消費者的「購買意願」降低，而當消費者感受到「反應性消費罪惡感」時，在短期內對類似產品的「再購意願」會降低。 第二階段的量表發展，經過多次專家對初步發展的題項進行評估，並確認專家意見歸類準確，才進行兩次量表純化、效標關聯效度的檢測、以及量表鑑別度分析，據此確立「預期性消費罪惡感量表」及「反應性消費罪惡感量表」。本研究並根據確立的量表驗證第一階段的命題，結果顯示，不同發生時點的消費罪惡感所表現出的核心情緒與推導出的命題一致。此外，本研究亦在量表發展完成之後，進一步將其修改為衡量單一商品的「特定商品消費罪惡感量表」，並以此量表檢測消費者在某特定商品上之消費罪惡感，結果顯示，針對特定商品的「預期性消費罪惡感」與「反應性消費罪惡感」為負相關，與「一般性消費罪惡感量表」之正相關相異。 整體而言，本研究不僅對「消費罪惡感」的本質作了深入的探究，讓「消費罪惡感」之定義更加明確，且解釋了不同消費罪惡感發生時機之情緒內涵的差異，並據此發展出「消費罪惡感量表」，以為未來「消費罪惡感」相關研究之適切衡量工具。 / Guilt is a negative state that individuals experience in reaction to either a positive but undeserved event or a negative but deserved event. Despite its negative valence, guilt is considered a functional emotion, because it informs individuals that they have violated personal or social standards and motivates reparative action. In a consumption context, guilt has been linked to impulsive buying, compulsive consumption, and overspending. This guilt about consumption is usually named “Consumer Guilt.” Although previous research has defined consumer guilt, the measurement of consumer guilt is still not available in previous research. Therefore, this study focuses on the construct of consumer guilt and intends to explore when consumer guilt occurs. In order to find out the constructs, timing, and measurement of consumer guilt, 25 respondents were reminded with a shopping situation which consumers usually have the feelings of guilt. The interviewees were also requested to recall their last consumer guilt situation. This research employed the critical incident techniques and the main study contains 57 consumer guilt events. The results illustrate three major findings. First, through collecting, sorting and analyzing 56 events, the results pointed out consumer guilt had six constructs of emotion: hesitation, fear, scruple, reluctance to spend, regret, blame. Second, the past researches indicated consumer guilt can divide into two categories: reactive guilt and anticipatory guilt. This study finds that besides anticipatory consumer guilt and reactive consumer guilt, consumer guilt occurs at the point of buying. We name it proceeding consumer guilt. Third, the major construct of anticipatory consumer guilt is hesitation, the major construct of proceeding consumer guilt is reluctance to spend, and the major construct of reactive consumer guilt is regret and blame. Based on these results, we define the construct of consumer guilt to be measured, and generate items that pertain to the construct. Then determine the reliability and validity of these items. The anticipatory consumer guilt scale and the reactive guilt were developed to capture the concept of consumer guilt. The scale successfully met standards for internal reliability, content validity, criterion-related validity, and construct validity.

The moderation function of in-group status position on the relationship between group-based guilt and reparation intention was tested in a 2 (group-based guilt: low versus high) x 2 (status loss: weak versus strong) factorial between-subjects design, using an online survey software program named Qualtrics. The target population was white South African undergraduate students born after 1988 and registered at the University of South Africa. The results of the first Experiment confirmed the hypothesis, that the relationship between group-based guilt and reparation intention becomes less significant the more participants perceive a loss of status for their in-group. However, the hypothesis could not be confirmed in Experiment 2. The results are presented and discussed in detail / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Juger est un processus particulièrement ardu. Malgré le cadre légal, le cerveau humain est soumis à de nombreuses influences. Il recueille, consciemment ou non, des informations de provenances variées lorsqu’il est face à une situation. De nombreux travaux ont mis en évidence des influences externes aux faits, comme la beauté du prévenu, l’aspect horrible des preuves ou les caractéristiques physiques des noirs par rapport aux blancs, qui influenceraient les jurys populaires aux Etats-Unis. En revanche, peu de travaux se sont intéressés aux émotions du prévenu et à l’influence qu’elles pourraient avoir sur les juges. Dans cette optique, deux chercheurs de l’Université libre de Bruxelles, Christophe Leys et Laurent Licata, ont étudié l’influence de la perception de la culpabilité, en tant qu’émotion, sur le jugement pénal.<p><p>Ils ont accepté de résumer pour Justice-en-ligne le fruit de leurs recherches.<p><p>Le sentiment de culpabilité est essentiel dans le cadre d’un jugement parce qu’il induit celui qui la ressent à réparer son tort, que ce soit symboliquement, par des excuses, ou concrètement par des actes, comme le remboursement des dommages occasionnés.<p><p>Une première étude a montré qu’un prévenu, pris en flagrant délit, se sentant coupable sera moins sévèrement condamné que s’il ne se sent pas coupable, car il est perçu comme plus sociable, que son délit a tendance à être attribué à des circonstances externes, et qu’il semble moins susceptible de récidiver. Dans une seconde approche nous avons voulu savoir si l’influence des sentiments de culpabilité et de colère était la même en fonction de l’origine ethnique du prévenu, belge ou maghrébine. Lorsque l’on teste la présence ou l’absence de culpabilité et de colère, on obtient quatre comportements possibles du prévenu, qui peut :<p><p> se sentir coupable et ne pas être en colère ;<p> se sentir coupable et être en colère ;<p> ne pas se sentir coupable ni être en colère ;<p> ne pas se sentir coupable et être en colère.<p><p>Le premier et le dernier comportement sont attendus :la culpabilité va de pair avec une absence de colère et inversement. Par contre, la présence conjointe de culpabilité et de colère, ou l’absence de culpabilité et de colère sont des comportements surprenants. Dans le cas d’un prévenu belge, les comportements attendus conduisent à une sanction sévère, alors que les comportements surprenants conduisent à une peine plus modérée. Paradoxalement, exprimer de la culpabilité et pas de colère n’est donc pas une stratégie payante pour le prévenu car elle revient à reconnaître les faits sans évoquer de circonstances atténuantes. En revanche, un prévenu qui se sent coupable mais qui est en colère contre la société induit l’idée qu’il a compris sa transgression, mais que des circonstances atténuantes l’excusent partiellement.<p><p>Dans le cas d’un prévenu maghrébin, la situation diffère légèrement. Les Maghrébins souffrent de deux stéréotypes culturels (c’est-à-dire des croyances répandues dans la société à propos de leur groupe) négatifs à propos de ces émotions :ils sont perçus comme se mettant facilement en colère et comme se sentant rarement coupables. Il semble que les participants soient influencés, consciemment ou non, par ces stéréotypes. La condition cohérente, qui joint l’absence de culpabilité à la présence de colère conduit, comme pour le prévenu belge, à une peine sévère. Rien d’illogique :si un prévenu ne se sent pas coupable et de plus se rebelle, il ne doit pas s’attendre à de la clémence. Par contre, les deux conditions inattendues qui mènent à une peine moins sévère au prévenu belge n’ont pas cet effet chez le prévenu maghrébin. Tout se passe comme si, dès qu’il agit en accord avec ne fût-ce qu’un des stéréotypes négatifs de son groupe, il est puni sévèrement. Dès lors, s’il ressent de la colère ou qu’il ne se sent pas coupable, la peine est sévère. Par contre, lorsqu’il contredit ces stéréotypes, qu’il se sent coupable et n’est pas en colère, il est moins sévèrement puni. De toutes les conditions, Belges et Maghrébins confondus, c’est la situation qui conduit à la peine la plus basse. Il semble que, pour les prévenus maghrébins, les participants ne se soient pas tant centrés sur l’attribution de facteurs externes que sur une autre dimension, non pertinente chez un prévenu belge :le niveau d’intégration à la culture belge. Un maghrébin qui se sent coupable et n’est pas en colère est perçu comme bien intégré à la culture belge et moins condamné.<p><p>Peut-on parler de discrimination ?<p><p>Dans l’état actuel des recherches, il n’est pas question de discrimination, mais bien de raisonnements différents. Pour pouvoir invoquer la discrimination, il faudrait mettre en évidence plusieurs éléments :d’une part, ces études concernent essentiellement un échantillon de personnes qui ne sont pas magistrats, bien qu’une partie de l’échantillon était formée au droit. Même si aucune différence n’a été observée entre cet échantillon et le reste des participants, formés à d’autres disciplines que le droit, il se peut que les magistrats aient développé, par l’expérience, des stratégies de contrôle de ces effets.<p><p>D’autre part, la peine dépend avant tout du comportement émotionnel ;dès lors, si l’on imagine une situation dans laquelle tous les prévenus réagissent sans se sentir coupables et en étant en colère, la peine sera uniformément sévère quelle que soit l’origine. Par contre, si tous les prévenus réagissaient en se sentant coupables et en n’étant pas en colère, nos études sugèrent que ce sont les prévenus belges qui seraient discriminés. Les prévenus maghrébins seraient également discriminés si, par exemple, tous les prévenus réagissaient de manière inattendue. Mais nous n’avons que peu d’informations sur ces comportements lors des procès.<p><p>Quelques données supplémentaires<p><p>Outre les expériences, quelques observations de terrain ont soulevé des points qui peuvent alimenter le débat. Trois approches ont été réalisées :l’observation de procès, l’entretien avec des ex-détenus et l’entretien avec des magistrats. Les deux premières visaient avant tout à investiguer la gestion des émotions en fonction de l’origine culturelle. Les prévenus d’origine maghrébine ont-ils tendance à se sentir plus ou moins coupables que les prévenus d’origine belge ?Existe-t-il des différences culturelles quant aux normes relatives à la présentation d’excuses lorsque l’on a commis un délit ?Tous les prévenus ont-ils les moyens d’observer des rituels d’excuses complexes ?<p><p>L’observation de nombreux procès révèle une corrélation très forte entre les aptitudes linguistiques perçues du prévenu et sa tendance à présenter des excuses. Plus un prévenu éprouve des difficultés à s’exprimer en français, moins les stratégies d’excuses seront utilisées. A l’inverse, les Belges semblent s’excuser plus souvent, presque systématiquement même, dès lors qu’ils ne nient pas les faits.<p><p>Les ex-détenus, indépendamment de leur origine, ne se sentent a priori jamais coupables des délits qui leur ont été reprochés. Par contre, certains disent avoir présenté des excuses au tribunal. La culpabilité, lorsqu’elle était ressentie, concernait plutôt les conséquences du délit, comme les difficultés financières auxquelles étaient confrontées les familles des détenus, la violence imprévue durant les faits, ou encore, pour un cas, le délit lui-même (vente de stupéfiant) mais justifié par le fait que l’ex-détenu était toxicomane lors des faits. Il en ressort que, dans la plupart des cas, une justification morale avait déjà été trouvée lorsque les faits ont été commis, ce qui pose la question de l’intérêt d’un éventuel repentir et de l’impact qu’il faudrait lui donner sur la peine.<p><p>Les magistrats pensent pour la plupart qu’ils sont influencés par les émotions comme le seraient le commun des mortels. Seul un magistrat estime que l’expérience permet aux magistrats de maîtriser cet effet. Cependant, aucun ne peut quantifier l’importance de l’effet sur la peine. Certains l’estiment fort limité, d’autres plus important.<p><p>Conclusions<p><p>Ces recherches et observations posent les questions suivantes :doit-on prendre en compte, de manière contrôlée voire légiférée, l’effet des émotions comme la culpabilité sur la peine et, si oui, comment ?Dans certains pays, comme le Japon, les excuses ne peuvent pas être prises en compte. En effet, un prévenu s’excusera dans 99 % des cas, simplement parce que les normes de l’honneur l’imposent. Dès lors, alors que les excuses pourraient être interprétées comme un aveu de la transgression, elles ne sont pas autorisées car même un innocent pourrait s’excuser normativement. A quelles conclusions arriverions-nous si nous devions lever ce débat en Belgique ? / Doctorat en Sciences Psychologiques et de l'éducation / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

Spel om pengar finns i olika former och har blivit en del av många personers vardag, dessvärre kan inte alla hantera spelet. Spelmissbruk påverkar personen som för en ständig jakt på pengar och speltid vilket medför konsekvenser och känslor som är svåra att hantera. Ett spelmissbruk påverkar även omgivningen i form arbetsgivare, vänner, familj, barn med flera som alla blir en del av ett missbruk. Denna kvalitativa studie avser studera hur en person inträder i ett spelmissbruk, hur personen upprätthåller ett liv som spelmissbrukare och hur personen tar sig ur missbruket. Vårt syfte med studien är att få en djupare förståelse samt att urskilja vilka känslor ett spelmissbruk medför. Vi har genomfört djupintervjuer med åtta personer och tolkningen och analysen har skett hermeneutiskt. Genom vår analys har sju teman kunnat urskiljas intresse för spel i tidig ålder, inträde i spelmissbruk, ångest skuld och skam, verklighetsflykt, förändringar i identiteten och beteende, relationer och interaktion och avslutningsvis strategier. Vi har tagit del av åtta gripande berättelser och fann att spelmissbruk medför stora konsekvenser för den enskilde individen men även för personer i omgivningen. Spelmissbruk är viktigt att belysa och lyfta i samhället då det är ett växande problem som berör många och att det ofta är ett dolt missbruk. / Gambling with money comes in different forms and have become a part of many people's everyday lives, unfortunately not everyone can handle the game. Compulsive gambling affects the person who has a constant search for money and playing time, that gives consequences and feelings that are difficult to manage. The addiction affects people in the environment as employers, friends, family, children and others who all become part of an addiction. This qualitative study intends to study how a person enters a gambling addiction, how the person maintains a life as a compulsive gambler and how the person enter the abuse. Our purpose of the study is to gain a deeper understanding and to identify what emotions the addiction brings. We have conducted in-depth interviews with eight people and the interpretation and analysis has been hermeneutic. Through our analysis seven themes have been distinguished interest in the game at an early age, entry into gambling addiction, anxiety, guilt and shame, escapism, changes in the identity and behavior, relationships and interactions and finally strategies. We have taken note of the arrest of eight stories and found that compulsive gambling entails serious consequences for the individual but also for people in the surroundings. Compulsive gambling is important to highlight and promote in the community as it is a growing problem that affects many and it is often a hidden addiction.

Disordered eating is a general term that describes a wide range of behaviors from diagnosable eating disorders to subclinical patterns of behavior that do not meet criteria for diagnosis (e.g., problematic weight loss behaviors, excessive dieting, bingeing, purging). Disordered eating is prevalent and has a wide range of physical and psychological consequences. Negative self-conscious emotions such as shame and guilt have been implicated in the development and maintenance of disordered eating. Positive attitudes toward the self (i.e., self-forgiveness, self-compassion, self-acceptance) may be helpful in reducing shame, guilt, and disordered eating symptoms. In this dissertation, I explored the associations between positive attitudes toward the self, negative self-conscious emotions, and disordered eating in a sample of college students and adults (N = 477). Positive attitudes toward the self were associated with lower levels of disordered eating symptoms, and this relationship was partially mediated by lower levels of negative self-conscious emotions. I concluded by discussing areas for future research and implications for clinical practice.

Sob a égide de um Direito Penal garantista, calcado, sobretudo, no respeito aos princípios constitucionais, e com o fim de coadunar o mal da pena com o cerne de todo o sistema que é a máxima da dignidade da pessoa humana, novos temas emergem da realidade social, provocando reflexões no sentido de se atualizar o Direito e seus institutos com as necessidades de uma sociedade que está cada vez mais dinâmica em suas relações. Devido à amplitude e importância de seu conceito, a culpabilidade vem sendo objeto de estudo, afinal, de acordo com a sistemática adotada pelo Código Penal brasileiro, este instituto corresponde ao cerne da Teoria do Delito. A partir dos estudos sobre a culpabilidade, surge a teoria da coculpabilidade que, por sua abrangência conceitual, hoje se considera princípio de origem constitucional. A reflexão parte da gritante desigualdade socioeconômica que se vislumbra atualmente dentro do grupo social, a qual se reforça pela omissão do Estado na efetivação das políticas públicas que possibilitam o acesso dos cidadãos aos direitos sociais, e do fato incontroverso que o meio no qual a pessoa vive condiciona a formação de sua personalidade e, consequentemente, a eleição de seus comportamentos. Atrela-se a isso o caráter seletivo que o sistema penal assume quando se verifica na realidade fenomênica sua utilização equivocada como mecanismo corretor de problemas como a incapacidade estatal de cumprir os deveres constitucionais no que atine à concreção do bem comum. A coculpabilidade, então, coloca o Estado e a sociedade para dividirem a culpabilidade pelo crime com a pessoa do delinquente, uma vez que se constate no caso concreto que esta foi privada do acesso aos seus direitos fundamentais por negligência estatal; essa divisão de responsabilidade pelo delito se dá na limitação do direito de punir. O reconhecimento do princípio da coculpabilidade como vigente no Estado Democrático de Direito apresenta-se um tanto controverso ainda na jurisprudência e na doutrina penal brasileira. Tem por objeto a presente pesquisa analisar o alcance de referido princípio e sua aptidão de atenuar ou mesmo excluir a pena, situando-o na Teoria do Delito como mecanismo eficaz para a concreção do Direito Penal mínimo. / Under the aegis of a criminal garantista law, trampled, especially in respect to constitutional principles, and consistent with the end of the of the penalty with the evil core of the whole system which is the maximum of human dignity, new themes emerge from the social reality, causing reflections in order to update the law and its institutions to the needs of a society that is increasingly dynamic in their relationship. Due to the breadth and importance of its concept, culpability has been the object of study, after all, according to the system adopted by the Brazilian Penal Code; this corresponds to the core Theory of Crime institute. Based on the studies on the guilt arises the co culpability theory which in conceptual comprehensiveness, today it is considered a constitutional principle of origin. The reflection part of whopping socioeconomic inequality that can be seen today within the social group, which is reinforced by the omission of the state in the fulfillment of public policies that enable citizens\' access to social rights, and the incontrovertible fact that the way in which a person lives affects the formation of his personality and therefore the election of their behaviors. It attaches itself to the selective character the penal system assumes that when there is in fact phenomenalistic use as mistaken a mechanism broker problems such as the inability to meet the state constitutional duties concerning the concretion of the common good. The co culpability then puts the state and society sharing culpability by crime with the person of the delinquent, since it is found in this case was deprived of access to their fundamental rights by state neglect, this division of responsibility for the crime occurs on limiting the right of punishing. The recognition of the principle of co culpability as existing in a democratic state has become somewhat controversial even in Brazilian criminal jurisprudence and doctrine. Aims at the present research to analyze the scope of this principle and its capacity to mitigate or even delete the sentence, placing it on the Theory of Crime as an effective mechanism for the concretion of minimal Criminal Law.

Introdução: O aborto é assunto bastante polêmico e ainda muito estigmatizado pela sociedade brasileira. Seja aborto espontâneo ou provocado, apresenta repercussões emocionais ambivalentes para as mulheres que o vivenciam. Este estudo trata do tema aborto em um contexto plural e multifacetado, com o objetivo de identificar e analisar a vivência e o significado do aborto provocado enquanto fenômeno existencial concreto na vida da mulher, e comparar com mulheres que tiveram o aborto espontâneo. Método: Trata-se de estudo quali-quantitativo em que foram entrevistadas mulheres com diagnóstico de aborto atendidas em dois hospitais públicos da cidade de São Paulo no período de julho de 2008 a março de 2010. Para fins de análise qualitativa foram incluídas as 11 mulheres que provocaram aborto e para análise quantitativa, foi realizado estudo caso controle comparando-se com 22 que sofreram aborto espontâneo. As 11 mulheres que provocaram aborto foram entrevistadas em profundidade e os dados analisados qualitativamente com embasamento teórico Fenomenológico-Existencial. Resultados: As mulheres do grupo com aborto provocado, em relação ao grupo com aborto espontâneo, apresentaram menor escolaridade sendo mais freqüente o nível fundamental (82% vs. 36%, P=0,04); menor renda familiar (mediana, R$1000 vs. R$1400, P=0,04); menor renda pessoal (mediana, R$200 vs. R$333, P=0,04), maior frequência de sentimentos negativos na suspeita (82% vs. 22%, P=0,004) e na confirmação (72% vs. 22%, P=0,03) da gravidez. Na análise qualitativa fenomenológica, foram revelados nos discursos das mulheres cinco temáticas: percepção do conflito, a culpa como recurso de enfrentamento, identidade parental, relações afetivas fragilizadas e significado do aborto provocado (desamparo, sofrimento e dor). Um tema único e maior prevaleceu no discurso de todas as mulheres que provocaram o aborto as relaçoes afetivas fragilizadas e a culpa, entendendo-se este tema como a essência da vivência das mulheres que provocaram o aborto. Conclusão: Este estudo permitiu lançar um novo olhar, um recorte da vivência de mulheres menos favorecidas que se utilizaram de serviços públicos de saúde em momento de sofrimento diante da experiência do aborto provocado, e os sentimentos de relacionamentos fragilizados associados à culpa ressaltam como significados da vivência dessas mulheres / Introduction: The abortion subject is very controversial and still much stigmatized by the Brazilian society. Is miscarriage or induced abortion, shows ambivalent has emotional repercussions for women who experience. This study addresses the abortion issue in a plural and multifaceted context, aiming to identify and analyze the experience and meaning of abortion as the concrete existential phenomenon in women\'s lives, and to compare with women who had spontaneous abortion. Method: This is a qualitative and quantitative study based upon interviews with women diagnosed as abortion treated at two hospitals in São Paulo in the period July 2008 to March 2010. For purposes of qualitative analysis were included the 11 women who had an abortion and for quantitative analysis was conducted case-control study compared yourself to 22 who suffered miscarriage. The 11 women who had induced abortion were interviewed in depth and analyzed qualitatively with theoretical background Existential-Phenomenological. Results: The women in group with induced abortion in compared to those with spontaneous abortion, had less education and are more frequent in primary level (82% vs. 36%, P=0,04); lower family income (median $580 vs. $812, P = 0.04), lower personal income (median, $115 vs. $193, P = 0.04), higher frequency of negative feelings in the suspicion (82% vs. 22%, P = 0.004) and confirmation (72% vs. 22%, P = 0.03) of pregnancy. In phenomenological qualitative analysis, were revealed in the discourses of women at five themes: the perception of conflict, guilt as a means of coping, parental identity, vulnerable emotional relationships and meaning of abortion (abandonment, pain and suffering). The single theme and more prevalent in discourse of all women who had an induced abortion - the guilt and vulnerable affective relationships, understanding of this as the essence of the experience of women who had an induced abortion. Conclusion: This study has generated a new look, a clipping of the experience of disadvantaged women who used public health services in moment of suffering in the face of experience of abortion, and feelings of guilt associated with vulnerable relationships stand out as meanings of experiences of these women