Guilt and conscience in major depressive disorders. Am J Psychiatry 1983 Jul;140(7):839-44
Date
07/01/1983Pubmed ID
6859296DOI
10.1176/ajp.140.7.839Scopus ID
2-s2.0-0020576757 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 32 CitationsAbstract
The authors propose definitions of guilt as a self-critical feeling state and of conscience as a set of standards, to permit independent assessment of their prevalence in a sample of 93 depressed, 29 schizophrenic, and 43 normal subjects. Patients with feelings of guilt tended to have a more severe conscience and lower self-esteem. While guilt is prominent in a moderate percentage of depressed patients, negative self-esteem may form one of the cornerstones for depressed patients of all types. The authors propose that the operational definition of psychoanalytic concepts such as guilt and conscience permits a valid and more rigorous test of clinical generalizations.
Author List
Prosen M, Clark DC, Harrow M, Fawcett JAuthor
David C. Clark PhD Assistant Dean, Professor in the Research Office department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdolescentAdult
Conscience
Depressive Disorder
Female
Guilt
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Morals
Personality Inventory
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Schizophrenic Psychology
Self Concept
