Traumatic loss and helplessness: qualitative analysis of responses in the Rorschach

Abstract

The aim in this paper is to compare the answers on the Rorschach's inanimate motion (m) and blood content (Bl) between sexual abuse victims and non-victims. Among the protocols of 76 individuals between 10 and 14 years old, 29 were selected. Qualitative analysis showed that the victims presented: a) narratives with m responses, suggesting the presence of feelings of helplessness and powerlessness; b) replies with m or Bl associated with contents far more violent and destructive; c) images filled with morbid characteristics. The findings support evaluation practices, illustrate the traumatic effects of sexual abuse and ascertain the validity of Rorschach's test for the ideographic approach, derived from the responses' qualitative analysis, and also from the normothetic perspective derived from the structural summary.

New Contributions of the Rorschach Method on the Effects of Sexual Abuse in Childhood

“…These findings support the study by Scortegagna and Villemor-Amaral (2013), which also found aggressiveness and destructive trends in the narratives "attacking one another", "fighting", "explosion", "stones cast". The abusive sexual relations and the loss of figures of trust can contribute to the increase in reactions of hostility and anger, and in repetitive sexual behaviors (Finkelhor & Browne, 1985), which confirms the use of the Rorschach to understand this misfortune from an idiographic perspective.…”

“…The recursive images evoked, such as "dead", "ruined", "torn", "broken", "hole", "head… because it's glued", "fear", "sown mouth", witness the bodily and mental damage, an extinguished body. These findings are in line with the narratives "it looks like a mouse that was killed", "he's dead because I see that he was crushed", found in the study by Gravenhorst (2002), and the narratives "dog run over", "crushed frog", "crushed mouse", "crushed bat", "dead animals" found in the study by Scortegagna and Villemor-Amaral (2013), in which the high frequency of crushed objects reveals a two-dimensional body, without content, void. Next, Table 3 shows the AG answers.…”

“…The sexual responses can indicate a lack of prohibition in an adverse environment, as observed in earlier studies (Barnett et al, 2013;Gravenhorst, 2002;Scortegagna & Villemor-Amaral, 2009Perfect et al, 2011). The similarities of the responses with the study by Scortegagna and Villemor-Amaral (2013) are found in the narratives "it looks like a nipple", "it looks like the pelvis", "the butt down here", "taking her breasts", "destroyed nipple", and in the study by Barnett et al (2013) in the narratives "vaginal area", "two males… here are their penises".…”

“…answers with m contents, "an explosion in the sea of war", "an explosion in the water", "tree falling on the floor", from the study by Scortegagna and Villemor-Amaral (2013). These results also legitimize studies that show feelings of impotence towards the child's ineffective attempts to put an end to the maltreatment and the intrinsic stressful experiences of sexual abuse (Finkelhor & Browne, 1985;Scortegagna & Villemor-Amaral, 2009.…”

“…In the victims' expressions, the following were observed: i) m responses suggesting feelings of abandonment and impotence, for example, "nest… it's breaking, falling apart", "an explosion in the sea of war", "an explosion in the water", "tree falling on the floor"; ii) responses with m or Bl associated with much more violent or destructive contents, for example, "some droplets of blood are falling", "the blood is dripping, lots of blood falling on the people"; iii) images loaded with morbid characteristics, for example, "dog run over", "crushed frog", "a crushed mouse", "a crushed bat", "dead animals" (Scortegagna & Villemor-Amaral, 2013). The authors concluded that the frequent expressions containing m, Bl and MOR show the perception of a lifeless, damaged or undignified body, a fragmented sense of self, indicators that reveal the damage suffered much more acutely.…”