INTERPERSONAL CORRELATES OF THE GUILT INVENTORY

The interpersonal correlates of the Guilt Inventory (Kugler & Jones, 1 992), which yields scores for state guilt, trait guilt, and moral stan dards, were assessed. Data collection addressed three issues including the relationships among Guilt Inventory scores and measures of. (a) i nterpersonal emotions and traits (e.g., shyness, self-consciousness, a nger, etc.); (b) the social support network; and (c) ratings of trait guilt, moral standards, and relevant adjectives by friends and family members. Results indicated that trait and state guilt scores were sign ificantly related to various interpersonal measures, most particularly , depression, anxiety, shyness, and loneliness, but only modestly rela ted to satisfaction with social support. Moral standards were generall y unrelated to these variables. Others tended to rate participants hig her on trait guilt negatively (e.g., higher on contemptuous, angry, gu ilty, etc.), and participants higher on moral standards in socially ac ceptable terms (e.g., higher on prompt, self-reliant, moral, and relig ious). Results are interpreted in view of the frequently cited distinc tion between social and nonsocial emotions.