Compared depressed psychiatric patients who had guilt feelings (N = 97) to those who had no guilt feelings (N = 60) revealing an association of the former with an over-representation of the literate and psychotic Ss. Guilty Ss had longer depressive histories with an early age of onset, and in females history of death of 1 or both parents before the age of 15 yr. was frequently encountered. Projection of responsibility for distress and consequences of depression on to God was less common among guilty Ss, and the greater the intensity of experienced guilt the less the proportion of Ss who resorted to projection on to God. Earlier reports suggesting the rarity of guilt and self-reproach in African, Arab, and non-Christian depressives are not confirmed. (French & German Summaries)