ORIGINAL PAPER
Guilt proneness and associated factors in the German adult population: findings from a large cross-sectional web-based survey
1
Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, University of Applied Sciences Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany
Submission date: 2026-01-15
Final revision date: 2026-06-09
Acceptance date: 2026-06-26
Online publication date: 2026-08-03
Corresponding author
Tobias Luck
Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, University of Applied Sciences Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany
Faculty of Applied Social Sciences, University of Applied Sciences Erfurt, Erfurt, Germany
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Background:
Guilt proneness is considered an important factor influencing social and ethical behavior, but excessive guilt proneness may also be associated with adverse mental health outcomes. The aim of this study was therefore to provide empirical infor-mation on guilt proneness and associated factors in the German adult population.
Participants and procedure:
The results are based on the weighted data from 1,070 participants (aged 18-79) who took part in a standardized, nation-wide online survey in Germany. Guilt proneness was assessed using weighted scores from the Guilt and Shame Proneness Scale (GASP). The GASP includes two subscales: Guilt-NBE, which assesses negative behavior evaluations, and Guilt-Repair, which assesses repair action tendencies following transgressions. Group differences and associations with socio-demographic characteristics and depression were analyzed using nonparametric tests, Pearson correlations, and multivaria-ble linear regression.
Results:
With weighted mean scores of 5.6, guilt proneness findings were comparable for both guilt subscales (on a scale of 1 to 7, where higher scores indicate a greater extent of guilt proneness; the SDs were 1.3 for Guilt-NBE and 1.0 for Guilt-Repair). Guilt proneness was higher in older age groups and in women than in men, but it was not associated with probable major depression.
Conclusions:
Guilt proneness was generally high in German adults and was associated with age and gender, but not with a positive screen for probable major depression. These findings provide initial population-based data on guilt proneness in Germany and highlight the need for further research on its psychological and behavioral correlates.
Guilt proneness is considered an important factor influencing social and ethical behavior, but excessive guilt proneness may also be associated with adverse mental health outcomes. The aim of this study was therefore to provide empirical infor-mation on guilt proneness and associated factors in the German adult population.
Participants and procedure:
The results are based on the weighted data from 1,070 participants (aged 18-79) who took part in a standardized, nation-wide online survey in Germany. Guilt proneness was assessed using weighted scores from the Guilt and Shame Proneness Scale (GASP). The GASP includes two subscales: Guilt-NBE, which assesses negative behavior evaluations, and Guilt-Repair, which assesses repair action tendencies following transgressions. Group differences and associations with socio-demographic characteristics and depression were analyzed using nonparametric tests, Pearson correlations, and multivaria-ble linear regression.
Results:
With weighted mean scores of 5.6, guilt proneness findings were comparable for both guilt subscales (on a scale of 1 to 7, where higher scores indicate a greater extent of guilt proneness; the SDs were 1.3 for Guilt-NBE and 1.0 for Guilt-Repair). Guilt proneness was higher in older age groups and in women than in men, but it was not associated with probable major depression.
Conclusions:
Guilt proneness was generally high in German adults and was associated with age and gender, but not with a positive screen for probable major depression. These findings provide initial population-based data on guilt proneness in Germany and highlight the need for further research on its psychological and behavioral correlates.
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