Guilt- and Shame-Proneness, Tolerance for Disagreement and Ambiguity: A Comparative Study of Juvenile Delinquents and Non-Delinquents

Abstract

This study was conducted to investigate the difference between juvenile delinquents and non-delinquents in terms of their proneness to guilt and shame, tolerance for disagreement, and tolerance of ambiguity, and to also illustrate the relationship between these variables. The study sample included N=60 boys, out of which n=30 was school going students, and the other n=30 were juvenile delinquents who were admitted in the correctional homes. Data collection was done using the following tools; socio-demographics, GASP scale, TFD scale, and TOA scale. Data analysis was done using the independent sample T-test, and Pearson correlation statistics. The findings have been as follows: i) a significant difference exists in the variable ‘guilt-repair’ between delinquents and non-delinquents, where non-delinquents scored more than the delinquent group, ii) a significant difference exists in the ‘novelty-seeking’(source of intolerance for ambiguity) between delinquents and non-delinquents, where delinquents scored more than the non-delinquent group, iii)) tolerance for disagreement is strongly positively correlated with tolerance of ambiguity- complexity score (source of intolerance for ambiguity), and iv) tolerance for disagreement is strongly negatively correlated with tolerance of ambiguity- Novelty seeking. It is therefore, evident from the study that despite having almost similar feelings and preferences, what differentiates delinquents from non-delinquents is the action tendencies which follows these feelings and preferences.