The word ‘anxiety’ derives from the Greek root meaning ‘to press tight’ or ‘to strangle’ (Ronald et al., 2008a, p. 50). It is defined as “apprehensive anticipation of future danger or misfortune accompanied by a feeling of worry, distress, and/or somatic symptoms of tension” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, p. 818). It may be triggered either…
There are various theories that explain the mystery behind the evolution of an individual as a child sexual abuse offender. Biological theories propose that abnormalities in physiological factors like sex hormone levels or chromosome makeup make an impact on abusive sexual behaviour. In fact, sex hormones like androgens and testosterone regulate the sexuality and aggression…
Some blindly believe that child sexual abuse is a particular problem among priests. The data show that child sexual abuse prevalence is lower among priests than school teachers in the same time frame, and definitely lower than in the general population (Plante, 2010. para. 2). Biased supporters of the Church falsely believed that the child…
‘Maladaptive perfec- tionism’ is also associated with unhealthy self-esteem. Normal perfectionists are reasonable and realistic about self-expectations and usually perform with a realization of their limitations and strengths. Maladaptive per- fectionists demand of themselves a higher level of performance than it is usually possible to attain (Rice, Ashby, & Slaney, 1998, pp. 304-305). Since their…
The dictum ‘prevention is bet ter than cure is especially true in the context of child sexual abuse, Considering the multifaceted con- sequences and harm experienced by the victims child, family and society implementing effective measures to prevent child sexual abuse is always better. “With regard to sexual vio lence, prevention means creating healthy and…
There is a wider myth such as all child sex abusers are paedophiles, which is not true. Based on the motivation of the abuser, these offenders can be divided into ‘preferential offenders’ and ‘situational offenders’. Preferential offenders have a mental predisposition for sexual interaction with children. But situational offenders do not have any such preferences…
Loneliness has become common among the people in developed societies. As per the US data published in 2018, approximately 50 million people suffer from loneliness and which was 43 million in 2010. A British campaign in 2016 found that 84% people in Britain experience loneliness. In 2022, an Indian study revealed the presence of loneliness…
Repression is a defense mechanism in which the person is unable to remember or to be cognitively aware of disturbing wishes, feelings, thoughts, or experiences (American Psychological Association, 1987, p.394). According to George E. Vaillant’s (1992) classification, it is one of the neurotic defense mechanisms, because they “do not individually demonstrate strong relationships to symptoms…
In 1950s Solomon Asch, a Polish-American psychologist conducted a series of experiments among some college students. He showed the participants in common, three cards with three lines in differing length and asked them to say which of them had similar lengths. In the first three trials all of them made the correct judgments as ‘they…
Suppression is a defense mechanism in which the person avoids intentionally thinking about disturbing problems, desires, feelings, or experiences. It is considered as a mature form of defense mechanism, since these attempts to cope up with the situation are more conscious. But, is this a healthy way of living anger? Studies suggest that suppression has…