Empathy, interpersonal guilt, and depression in Iranian immigrants

Clinical data and recent theories suggest that guilt and empathy are significant factors in depression, but little is known about the effects of guilt and empathy on depression in Iranian immigrants. This study examined the relationship between interpersonal guilt, empathy, and depression in a group of Iranian immigrants. Specifically, this study attempted to identify the role of adaptive guilt as a mediating variable between interpersonal guilt and depression in Iranian immigrants.;Eighty-eight Iranian immigrants residing in California were recruited to complete the Interpersonal Guilt Questionnaire-67 (IGQ), Test of Self-Conscious Affect, Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and the Center for Epidemiological Studies for Depression scale. This study tested three hypotheses using a correlation and regression research design. Hypothesis 1 states that there is a positive correlation between interpersonal guilt and depression in Iranian immigrants. Hypothesis 2 states that survivor guilt, separation guilt, omnipotent responsibility guilt, and empathy are predictors of depression in Iranian immigrants. Hypothesis 3 states that adaptive guilt is a mediating factor between interpersonal guilt and depression. The results of this current study indicated that interpersonal guilt was positively correlated with depression. This study also found that both separation guilt and survivor guilt were significantly related to depression. The study findings indicated that individuals with higher interpersonal guilt were more likely to suffer from depression. In addition, the study findings did not support the hypothesis that adaptive guilt mediated the relationship between interpersonal guilt and depression in Iranian immigrants, using Baron and Kenny's (1986) model.