Shame, Guilt, and Their Associations With Social Competence in Preschool Children Who Are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing

Shame and guilt are moral emotions that arise when people evaluate their behaviour as morally right or wrong. These emotions are critical for the display of prosocial behaviours, or else, social competence. However, the relation between moral emotions and social competence in preschool children has not been studied extensively in typically hearing (TH) populations, let alone in deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) children. The present study investigated whether TH and DHH preschoolers differ in their levels of shame, guilt, and social competence. Furthermore, the association between moral emotions and social competence, for these two groups, was examined. This study is a part of a larger longitudinal cross-cultural project, which aims at understanding the (early) social-emotional developments of children with hearing loss and autism in China and the Netherlands, while also exploring cultural and societal factors. A total of 282 TH and DHH Chinese preschoolers, between the ages of 1.5-6.5...Show moreShame and guilt are moral emotions that arise when people evaluate their behaviour as morally right or wrong. These emotions are critical for the display of prosocial behaviours, or else, social competence. However, the relation between moral emotions and social competence in preschool children has not been studied extensively in typically hearing (TH) populations, let alone in deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) children. The present study investigated whether TH and DHH preschoolers differ in their levels of shame, guilt, and social competence. Furthermore, the association between moral emotions and social competence, for these two groups, was examined. This study is a part of a larger longitudinal cross-cultural project, which aims at understanding the (early) social-emotional developments of children with hearing loss and autism in China and the Netherlands, while also exploring cultural and societal factors. A total of 282 TH and DHH Chinese preschoolers, between the ages of 1.5-6.5 years old, participated in the study. The data were collected via parent-report questionnaires, where parents reported online or on paper the levels of the studied variables in their children. The results showed that DHH preschoolers expressed less shame and guilt, while also displaying lower levels of social competence than the TH group. For both groups, no relation was found between shame and social competence, while guilt was found to be positively related with social competence. Notably, this positive relation was stronger in DHH than in TH preschoolers, revealing the potentially crucial role of guilt for the promotion of social competence in DHH children. This study serves as a preliminary step toward understanding the relations between moral emotions and social competence for TH and DHH preschoolers, while also providing recommendations for future research.Show less

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Shame, Guilt, and Their Associations With Social Competence in Preschool Children Who Are Deaf or Hard-of-Hearing