A prominent public health concern for college students nationwide is heavy alcohol consumption and drinking consequences. This study defines shame and guilt as “self-conscious moral emotions.” Shame and guilt are something that many college students may experience when reporting adverse effects associated with drinking. This article examines the relationship between the propensity to experience shame and guilt in the context of alcohol-related transgression in college students’ hazardous alcohol use and the role of gender in this relationship. This article hypothesizes that guilt-propensity after alcohol-related transgressions would be related to less dangerous alcohol use but that greater shame-propensity would lead to greater hazardous alcohol use.
This study consisted of 134 participants; all were the age of 18 or older and reported alcohol consumption in the past 90 days. Participants completed confidential online surveys and received course credit. The study measured gender identity, alcohol use, general guilt and shame proneness, and alcohol-related guilt and shame proneness. A 16-item Guilt and Shame Proneness Scale (GASP) measured public guilt and shame proneness. An adapted version of GASP based on negative alcohol-related consequences measured alcohol-related guilt and shame proneness.
The findings of this study indicated that guilt-proneness for alcohol-involved consequences relates to less problematic drinking behaviors, which was consistent with one of the study’s hypotheses. However, alcohol-related shame did not show to have a relationship with hazardous drinking for students. The study also found no association between gender and guilt-proneness or shame-proneness for alcohol-hazardous drinking behaviors. Guilt and shame were found to increase as problematic alcohol use increased. The article also touches on the idea of encouraging engagement in reparative actions when harm occurs instead of in a reprimanding way. Future research should examine other potential factors in this relationship between guilt and shame and hazardous drinking.
Takeaway: This study shows evidence that experiencing guilt but not shame after alcohol consumption is related to less hazardous drinking in the future.