# Guilt and shame and its relation to oxytocin in patients with depression and alcohol addiction

## TL;DR

This study explores how guilt and shame relate to oxytocin levels in people with depression and alcohol addiction, finding that these emotions are more influenced by individual traits than specific disorders.

## Contribution

The study reveals that maladaptive guilt and shame in mental disorders are more linked to individual characteristics than disease-specific factors.

## Key findings

- Patients with depression showed increased interpersonal guilt and shame proneness.
- Alcohol addiction patients had the lowest oxytocin levels and antidelophilic attitudes.
- Oxytocin levels were not directly related to guilt and shame proneness.

## Abstract

Guilt and shame are important and universal social emotions that fundamentally shape the way people interact with each other. Mental illness such as depressive disorder (DD) or alcohol addiction (AA) is therefore often related to pronounced dysfunctional feelings of shame and guilt. Oxytocin has been suggested to play an important role in socially and morally associated emotions such as shame and guilt.

A total of 85 participants (41 women and 44 men) were clinically investigated, including shame and guilty proneness. To assess the proneness for guilt and shame, the IGQ, the SCV scale, TOSCA, and SHAME were used.

Patients with DD showed a maladaptive guilt and shame profile, characterized by increased interpersonal feelings of guilt and increased proneness of shame. Patients with AA were characterized by the lowest reserve and antidelophilic attitude. Oxytocin values were lowest in the patients with AA compared to the two other groups, but not related to guilt and shame.

The proneness to maladaptive guilt and shame of mental disorders appears to be less dependent on specific disease aspects than on individual characteristics. Dimensions such as guilt and shame should be more implemented in psychotherapy.