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PSYCHOANALYTIC PSYCHOLOGY, 1989, 6(2), 217-230
Copyright © 1989, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Shame, Guilt, Narcissism,
and Depression:
Correlates and Sex Differences
Fred Wright, PhD
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
John O'Leary, PhD
William Alanson White Institute
Joseph Balkin, PhD
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
This study examines the relationships between shame, guilt, narcissism, and
depression and the gender differences connected with these
states.
We
hypothesize
that shame would be a more powerful contributor to narcissism and depres-
sion than guilt and that women would score higher in shame, higher in depres-
sion, and lower in narcissism than men. The Adapted Shame/Guilt Scale, the
Narcissistic Personality Inventory, and the Self-Rating Depression Scale were
administered to male and female undergraduates.
The results show that shame plays an important role in both narcissism and
depression, and that its role in depression is stronger than that of guilt. It was
also concluded that men are more prone to narcissism and women to depres-
sion, and sex differences related to shame and guilt are linked to specific situa-
tions and self-images. Implications for treatment are also noted.
Recently, there has been a resurgence of clinical and theoretical interest in
the superego. One reason is the expansion of psychoanalytic interest into new
territories where superego deficits are paramount (i.e., the preoedipal con-
ditions). Kernberg (1984), for example, stated that the two most important
considerations in the treatability of borderline and narcissistic states is the
quality of the patients' object relations and the relative integration of their
superegos.
Requests for reprints should be sent to Fred Wright, PhD, Department of Psychology, John
Jay College of Criminal Justice, 445 West 59th Street, New York, NY 10019.
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