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The Moral Emotions of Guilt and Shame in Children: Relationship with Parenting and Temperament

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Abstract

This study aimed to understand the role of parenting and child temperament in explaining guilt and shame proneness in elementary school children (aged 8–10 years). For that purpose, 69 caregivers completed measures of parental disciplinary strategies and child temperament (SOMA-PC and TMCQ), while 81 children (57% boys) completed measures of shame and guilt-proneness (TOSCA-C) and performed a behavioral task (DNT) to assess effortful control. Results showed that children from parents that use victim-oriented induction practices are more prone to feel guilt, and consequently more prone to adopt reparative behaviors in sociomoral situations. In contrast, love withdrawal techniques predicted negatively guilt-proneness. Furthermore, no relationship between parenting practices and shame-proneness has been found. Regarding the association between temperament and moral emotions, our results indicate that effortful control, either measured by parental report or through the behavioral task performed by children, predicted positively guilt-proneness. This result suggests that effortful control components may facilitate the experience of affective discomfort associated with guilt proneness, as well as the adoption of normative and prosocial behaviors. Results concerning shame-proneness were less consistent: we did not find any associations between shame proneness and the temperament measures used in the present study. Overall, these findings partially support previous studies on parenting and moral emotions, contributing to a new discussion on the relationship between self-regulatory aspects of temperament and morality in childhood.

Highlights

  • Results suggested that parenting and temperament contribute to guilt.

  • Guilt is positively associated with parental induction practices.

  • Shame has no relationship with parenting practices included in the study.

  • Effortful control was positively associated with guilt.

  • Results indicated that shame proneness is not associated with child temperament.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Criminology, Faculty of Law, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Margarida Amorim dos Santos & Carla Sofia de Freitas Lino Pinto Cardoso

  2. Faculty of Law, Lusíada University—North, Porto, Portugal

    Margarida Amorim dos Santos & Josefina Maria de Freitas e Castro

  3. Interdisciplinary Research Centre on Crime Justice and Security, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

    Margarida Amorim dos Santos, Josefina Maria de Freitas e Castro & Carla Sofia de Freitas Lino Pinto Cardoso

  4. Center for Juridical, Economic and Environmental Studies, Lusíada University, Porto, Portugal

    Josefina Maria de Freitas e Castro

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  1. Margarida Amorim dos Santos
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  2. Josefina Maria de Freitas e Castro
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Contributions

M.A.S. designed and executed the study, conducted data analyses and wrote the initial draft of the paper. J.M.F.C. assisted with writing of the study, collaborated with data collection and analyses, and writing the final manuscript. C.S.F.L.P.C. contributed to study design, data collection and analysis, and writing of the study.

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Correspondence to Margarida Amorim dos Santos or Carla Sofia de Freitas Lino Pinto Cardoso.

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dos Santos, M.A., de Freitas e Castro, J.M. & de Freitas Lino Pinto Cardoso, C.S. The Moral Emotions of Guilt and Shame in Children: Relationship with Parenting and Temperament. J Child Fam Stud 29, 2759–2769 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-020-01766-6

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