Shame, guilt, and delinquency: A study of repeated offending with adolescent prisoners

Shame and guilt are moral emotions which result from the deviation of internalized standards. They serve, in the sense of monitoring, as instances of action-control and are a condition of self-control. Shame and guilt differ with respect to their developmental processes, accompanying emotions and behavioral consequences. Shame often results in social withdrawal, anger and aggression, whereas guilt supports prosocial behavior. The aim of the present study was to examine to what extent feelings of shame and guilt, experienced during a prison term, influence criminal behavior after release. The study is based on data of 447 male offenders from six different detention centers who were repeatedly interviewed during detention. An event-history analysis shows that feelings of guilt (shame) go along with slightly lower (higher) rates of recidivism, although these effects are not significant. However, feelings of guilt that arise as a consequence of violent crime prevent further delinquency.