The long-term psychological impact of political repression: The children of the "disappeared" and assassinated in Honduras.
Item
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Title
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The long-term psychological impact of political repression: The children of the "disappeared" and assassinated in Honduras.
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Identifier
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AAI9605637
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identifier
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9605637
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Creator
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Munczek, Debora Soler.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Steven Tubor
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Date
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1995
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Developmental | Psychology, Social | Psychology, Clinical | Political Science, General
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Abstract
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In Latin America, violent state power has been exercised with intimidation, jailing, murder and "disappearance." Few studies have examined the psychological effects of political disappearance and assassination on surviving family members. This dissertation, based on an exploratory study in Honduras, compares non-clinical samples of 16 children who have experienced the loss of a parent through forced disappearance with 11 children who suffered a similar loss from a political assassination. Surviving parents or caretakers of these children were also interviewed. When the interviews occurred, the time since the disappearance or assassination was ten months to nine years. Diagnostic assessment consisted of a structured interview, projective tests (House-Tree-Person, Rorschach, Thematic Apperception Test), symptom and behavior scales (child and parent versions of adapted Post-Traumatic Reaction Symptom Checklist and Child Behavior Inventory), and open-ended questions about individual and family history, feelings about the loss, and current life.;Intergroup and intragroup (by gender) differences were quantitatively analyzed using the Urist Mutuality of Autonomy scale, an object-relations measure applied to the Rorschach. Questionnaire and symptom scales were analyzed using frequency distributions, means and standard deviations, t tests for independent samples, the Mann-Whitney U test, and reliability tests. Quantitative and qualitative analyses revealed that both groups were traumatized and evidenced symptoms of post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety and aggressive feelings. Despite the greater length of time since the loss of their parent, children of the disappeared remained as symptomatic as the assassinated group children. Children of the disappeared presented more emotional disturbance than children of the assassinated. The lack of physical, emotional or legal resolution in cases of disappearance results in a failure to mourn their loss and be able to continue with their lives. Other themes explored are both groups' familial interactions; their physical, behavioral and emotional symptoms; their internalized sense of self, others, the world and the future; issues about separation, mourning, aggression and revenge; and the psychosocial effects of involvement (and noninvolvement) in organized protest and in groups of family members of victims of political repression.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
