Shame and guilt-proneness: Divergent implications for problematic alcohol use and drinking to cope with anxiety and depression symptomatology

► The hypothesis that shame is associated with using alcohol to cope was tested. ► Shame was positively correlated with drinking cope with anxiety and depression. ► Guilt was negatively correlated with drinking to cope with depression. ► Shame and guilt are associated with divergent motivations for consuming alcohol. Shame and guilt are closely related emotions of negative affect that give rise to considerably divergent motivational and self-regulatory behaviors. While shame-proneness has demonstrated replicable relationships with increased alcohol use disorder symptomatology, guilt-proneness appears to protect an individual against development of problematic alcohol use. One prominent but untested hypothesis is that shame-prone individuals are motivated to consume alcohol in order to down-regulate experiences of negative affect. The present study aimed to test this hypothesis by exploring relationships between shame and guilt-proneness with motivations for consuming alcohol. University students (N=281) completed measures of shame and guilt-proneness, measures of alcohol use disorder symptomatology, and a measure assessing five motivational domains for consuming alcohol. Shame-proneness was positively associated with problematic alcohol use and drinking as a means of coping with anxiety and depression-related symptomatology. In contrast, guilt-proneness was inversely related to alcohol problems and drinking to cope with depression. This study provides initial support for the hypothesis that shame-prone individuals are inclined to consume alcohol in order to cope with negative affect states. These findings may help explain the inverse relationship between guilt-proneness and alcohol problems and the apparent positive relationship between shame-proneness and problematic alcohol use.