Intensity of Habitual Guilt in Men and Women: Differences in Interpersonal Sensitivity and the Tendency towards Anxious-Aggressive Guilt

Abstract

In this study we analyzed gender differences in the intensity of habitual guilt, as well as those in interpersonal sensitivity and the tendency towards experiencing feelings of guilt with a high anxious-aggressive component. The 360 participants (adolescents, young adults and adults) were asked to relate one of the situations that most frequently caused them to experience guilt and to rank its intensity and that of 9 other emotions they may have experienced at the same time on a 7-point scale. These scales were used to obtain the scores for the anxious-aggressive component of guilt. Two interpersonal sensitivity measures were used: the IRI Empathic Concern scale and an ad hoc measure focusing on the guilt produced by interpersonal events (Interpersonal Guilt). Habitual guilt was found to be more intense in women than in men in all age groups. The results suggest that this difference is linked to differences in interpersonal sensitivity and the tendency to experience types of guilt with a high anxious-aggressive component.

Pathways between under/unemployment and health among racialized immigrant women in Toronto

“…Even when participants faced the same exposures as might be experienced by other under/unemployed individuals, their social location modified the impact on their health. For example, fear of sexual assault, sleeplessness and guilt were intrinsically gendered responses to labour market conditions (Krishnan and Collop 2006;Etxebarria et al 2009). Migration and racialization also modified health impacts.…”

Factores de riesgo asociados a la violencia sufrida por la mujer en la pareja: una revisión de meta-análisis y estudios recientes.

“…La depresión sitúa a la víctima en una posición de indefensión y fuente de irritación y frustración para el agresor (Niedenthal et al, 2006). Por otro lado, los estudios muestran que hay una menor aceptación de la mujer si evidencia conductas agresivas y es más probable que contengan su ira, mientras que es más probable que los hombres la manifiesten (Etxebarria et al, 2009). La ira del hombre predecía la violencia, aunque no ocurría lo mismo con la ira femenina -recordemos que la violencia recíproca era un factor de riesgo de ser víctima y podemos pensar que en parte se asocia a la ira de esta última.…”

“…A mayor culpa y vergüenza más riesgo de violencia. La vergüenza genera malestar, confusión en la víctima e impide la acción, y la culpa cumple una función reparadora sobre las conductas negativas del agresor y mantiene a la mujer en la situación de maltrato (Etxebarria, Ortiz, Conejero y Pascual, 2009;Sheikh y Janoff-Bulman, 2010). Por otra parte, el miedo se asocia a la huida y aleja a las mujeres de la situación de violencia, sin embargo, en situaciones de violencia crónica hace que la mujer se mantenga en la relación y favorece el ejercicio de nuevas conductas violentas (Echeburúa et al, 2002;Folkman, 2010;Moral et al, 2011;Stith et al, 2004).…”

Do Employees Know How Their Supervisors View Them? A Study Examining Metaperceptions of Job Performance

“…In the current study, when assessing the influence of the proposed predictors on meta-accuracy, we control for the effects of gender and age. Prior research suggests that women tend to have greater interpersonal sensitivity than men (Etxebarria, Ortiz, Conejero, & Pascual, 2009) and age is positively related to interpersonal savvy (Blanchard-Fields, Mienaltowski, & Seay, 2007). Thus, employees' meta-accuracy may differ across gender and age.…”