A popular Malayalam movie named ‘Pani’ has recently brought some discussions in social media about the violence in movies and its impact on human psyche. Some argues that violence shown in any art form would help the audience to have an experience of ‘Catharsis’. The word catharsis comes from the Greek word katharsis, which literally…
A picture of a tender encounter between Pope Francis and Vinicio Riva, an Italian has become popular in 2013. Pope hugged Vinicio who was suffering from neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder with growths and itchy sores from head to toe. Later Vinicio explained his experience to the media in the following words “When he came close…
Every year WHO celebrates ‘International Self-Care Day’ on July 24th. The choice of this date was intentional. July 24th can be abbreviated as 24/7, which also means 24 hours and seven days. Therefore, the message is loud and clear, self-care is an effort without breaks. It’s a continuous process where every individual tries to care…
Social media helped us to recognize the fact that the social acceptance is a significant factor in human life. People do certain risky things for their social media contents. Some others do silly and funny things to amuse others. Yet another group of people attract the viewers by opening up their private life in the…
IPSOS, one of the largest research companies in the world, has conducted a ‘trustworthiness-index study’ globally in the last five consecutive years from 2018 to 2023. Each year they interviewed around twenty thousand adults from around 30 different countries, including India. Presenting 18 various professions they asked the participants to express their perception of trust…
There were many traumatic events in connection with the recent landslides in Wayanad. One of such events captured the attention of the social media in the last week. It was the personal sharing of a mother named Sujatha and her granddaughter Mrudula. In a voice filled with sadness, she narrates an episode of her rainy…
Along with the personal reasons, there can have some situational stressors and social factors behind child sexual abuse offences by clerics. These situational stressors do not cause abuse but serve as ‘triggers’. Shifting from one place to another–initially from family to seminary, seminary to parish and one parish to another–is a general fact in the…
A healthy self-esteem among students had become a focal point of education policy by the 1980s in the United States and obligatory by the 1990s. They used methods suggested by popular psychology, such as games involving a group of students and teachers talking about how much they like themselves, and a similar ‘self-esteem programme’. It…
There are various theories which explains the etiology of child sexual abusive behaviour of a perpetrator. Among them ‘attachment theories’ and ‘developmental theories’ find the dysfunctional parenting and childhood traumas as the root of such abusive behaviours. Attachment theories find an interrelation between attachment defects and child sexual abuse behaviour behaviour. Attachment styles in adulthood…
Insights from the therapeutic practises for child sexual abuse offenders explain the correlation between sexual offenders’ self-esteem and their sexual violence towards children. Earlier the treatment for sex offenders addressed the sexual deviance directly, focusing on the behavioural interventions and cognitive interventions. Later more comprehensive treatment programmes were developed to include interventions that targeted self-esteem…
First of all, child sexual abuse is an abusive act which may involve aggression or violence. Self-esteem has shown some correlation with aggressive behaviour in general. Conventional wisdom has regarded low self-esteem as an important cause of violence (Baumeister et al., 1996, p. 5). Different publications regarding physical abuse towards children has indicated that parental…
‘Maladaptive perfectionism’ is 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 perfectionists demand of themselves a higher level of performance than it is usually possible to attain (Rice et al., 1998, pp. 304–305). Since their standards are high and…
The Commission of Investigation into the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin, commissioned by the Minister for Justice and Equality, Ireland, makes a serious comment about the long history of CSA prevalence among clerics. “There is a two thousand year history of Biblical, Papal and Holy See statements showing awareness of clerical child sex abuse” (Murphy et…
Diocesan priests experienced significantly more burnout than religious priests. It was the findings of Antony Raj and Karol E. Dean, two researchers in the field of pastoral psychology. They conducted a study among 50 diocesan priests and 51 religious priests randomly selected from two dioceses in South India. Similarly, in 2010 another study by Hans…
There are many socio-cultural elements that influence self-esteem. There is a ‘culturally defined world view ‘consisting of living standards created, transmitted, and maintained by a culture. The self-belief that how well one lives according to this standard becomes the central part of one’s self-esteem. Then an individual’s self-esteem has a tendency towards the validation of…
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…
Acting-out is a defense mechanism in which the person acts without reflection or apparent regard for its negative consequences (DSM III, 1987 p.394). George E. Vaillant (1992) explains that it “involves the expression of feelings, wishes, or impulses in uncontrolled behaviour with apparent disregard for personal or social consequences” (p.253). Therefore it is the mode…
Mask has been a popular word for last three years. During the Covid-19 pandemic years, Hebrew Language Academy published an explanation regarding the root of this word. They connect it with a biblical text from the book of Leviticus verse 13, 45. “Anyone with such a defiling disease must wear torn clothes, let their hair…
Some emotions are closer to each other at their experiential level. They share some commonalities, perhaps in expressions, in physiological activities, in the nature of antecedents or in the appraisal process. Therefore, they naturally form a ‘family of feelings’ (Ekman, 1992, p. 172) or a ‘cluster of emotions’. Shame, embarrassment, shyness and doubt form such…
Etymologically ‘guilt’ denotes the violation of a rule, causing a debt or penalty. In Judeo-Christian tradition it was considered to be a result of sin. In both cases, the focus is on the act. Psychology has shifted its focus from act to feelings towards oneself (Banmen, 1988, p. 79). Psychologically it is an emotional response…
At the mourning dawn of Mr. Innocent, a leading actor in Malayalam Cinema; I happened to watch one of his interviews. In which, he was mentioning about some of the non-innocent questions that he had to face from his guests after he was survived of the cancer. Though the original intentions of such visits were…
Ancient philosophical and religious views considered pride as one of the seven deadly sins to be avoided in life. But recent psychological researchers have found that the emotion of pride has also a positive face. They broadened the horizon of such feelings with variations like hubris, confidence and arrogance, and gradually influenced the moral judgement…
It was in August 2021, in Mumbai a 16 year old left his home after spending ten lakhs rupees in a month from his mother’s card for making in-game purchases while playing PUBG online. This was not a rare incident of that. Psychologists, especially who work among children have recognized the increase within the number…
“I cannot but stop looking at my mobile phone every now and then, though I earnestly desired to reduce the amount of the time that I spent with it in my daily routine”. “I could not quit smoking, although I really wanted to do so”. Many say these or similar dialogues in various moments of…
There is a mode of expressing anger called passive aggression, in which the person indirectly or unassertively expresses aggression towards others. Here, anger is disguised and veiled. It consists of fi ve interrelated psychological factors: rigidity, resentment, resistance, reactance, and reversed reinforcement. Major characteristics of passive aggressive behavior are procrastination, hostile jokes, stubbornness, resentment, deliberate…
Displacement is a defense mechanism in which the person generalizes or redirects a feeling about an object or a response to an object on to another, usually less threatening object. When it comes to the anger, which is usually an unacceptable feeling, people redirect their anger about a person, place or thing towards a safer…
In 1993, Ludwig and Longenecker, two experts in management studies have published an article analyzing the ethical failures of successful leaders. According to them, those successful managers could not cope with and respond to the ‘by-products of success’ and which led them to their moral transgressions. They listed four ‘by-products of success’ namely becoming complacent…
Last week, FIFA released the report that India has the second highest number of fans at stadiums of Qatar. These days, various animated celebrations for football-heroes can be found also in many Indian villages, including numerous huge cut-outs and banners. Social media is fi lled with fan-based posts and at times which have even crossed…
In 2018, Times of India reported that there were 150 million people in need of professional help for their mental health disorders. But only 30 million people seek for any such services. Social stigma towards people with mental illness has been found as one of the important reasons for the same. Stigmas towards mentally sick…
Researches among the perpetrators who engaged in child sexual abuses identify unhealthy self-esteem as one among the various risk-factors in developing an abuser. The correlation between unhealthy self-esteem and abusive behaviour can be understood in three dimensions. First of all, unhealthy self-esteem has been repeatedly identifi ed among different sex offenders (Craig et al., 2008,…
In 2011, P. P. Datta and K. A. Firdoush have done an experimental study among the 258 village adolescents of ages 15-19, in West Bengal, eastern India regarding their living mode of anger. In the same research area, another study was conducted in the capital city of India, Delhi in 2001 by K. Bjorkqvist, K.…
Child rearing and parenting style has been an interesting factor among many researchers of self-esteem development and which led to many researches that analyzed the interrelation between the two. Parenting styles can be categorized into four according to the parental demandingness and responsiveness; such as authoritative, authoritarian, indulgent and uninvolved. Authoritative parents are moderate in…
In 2007, Ministry of Women and Child Development of India reported an alarming information regarding child sexual abuse in the country, based on a study conducted in its 13 out of 28 states. A 53.22% of children in India undergo one or more forms of sexual abuse. That means, in India, every second child is…
Rahel Tajeddini, an Indian psychologist carried out a comparative study about the self-esteem of Indian youths in 2014. 400 students (200 males & 200 females, 200 Indians & 200 outsiders) who were doing specialization courses after their respective graduation participated in this research. They were within the age group of 20-35 and from 32different countries…
There are accusations that “Christianity has frequently discounted anger describing it as part of our carnal nature and representative of human depravity” (Lester, 2003, p.2). It is a non-deniable reality that Christians generally tend to consider anger as a negative emotion. Even though Jesus himself has expressed his anger in public at different times; his…
Humour, fun, playfulness and laughter usually contribute signifi cantly to the quality of life. They would enliven a community and help to relieve tensions for all involved. At times, funs cross the limits. People tease others for reasons like simple errors, foolish acts, walking style, mannerisms, physical appearance and talking pattern. Consciously or not such…
“It’s such a big shame for me to leave the priesthood after living it for last 30 years; but I feel the same shame to continue as a part of this Catholic Church, where clergy molest children and where Bishops fail to take actions against those priests.” These powerful words out of a desperate mind;…
It was in a pleasant evening, I met a charming young man. His wits and jokes easily made him the centre of attraction of that get-together. At a moment we had a group-selfie, but he notably withdrew from it. Later in a private dialogue, he opened up his mind. Actually, he doesn’t like taking his…
