Hand Outs in Human Behavior and Victimology 3

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INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN BEHAVIOR

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION:

This chapter will introduce the students to the brief preface on behavior and
human behavior, abnormal behavior, criminal behavior, and the underlying personality
theories. Most of all, this chapter provides information to students on how our courts
decide a criminal case involving insanity.

OBJECTIVES:

At the end of this chapter, the students will be able to:


1. Identify the signs of abnormal behavior, the types of mental disorders, and
sources of criminal behavior.
2. Distinguish maladaptive one’s self from maladaptive to society, Psychosis from
Neurosis and Oedipus complex from Electra complex.
3. Discuss the decisions of the courts involving the rule of insanity in the criminal
case.
4. Gather data showing decisions of the courts from other countries involving
insanity in a criminal case.

LESSON PROPER:

Segment 1. Overview
What is Behavior?
Behavior refers to the action of an organism or system, usually concerning its
environment, which includes the other organisms or systems around as well as the
physical environment.

What is Abnormal Behavior?


Abnormal Behavior is something deviating from the normal or differing from the
typical, is a subjectively defined behavioral characteristic, assigned to those with rare
or dysfunctional conditions.
Abnormal Behavior is behavior that is deviant, maladaptive, or personal
distressful over a long period (King, 2008)

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What is Psychopathology?
Psychopathology is the scientific study of mental, emotional, and behavioral
disorders as well as abnormal or maladaptive behavior.

How Abnormal Behavior is identified?


Abnormal Behavior could be recognized through any of the following:
1. Deviation from Statistical Norm – the word abnormal means ‘away from the
norm’. Many population facts are measured such as height, weight, and
intelligence.
a. Intelligence – it is statistically abnormal for a person to get a score of about
145 on an IQ test or to get a score below 55, but only the lower score is
considered abnormal (Wakefield, 1992).
b. Anxiety – a person who is anxious all the time or has a high level of anxiety
and someone who rarely feels anxiety are all considered to be abnormal.
2. Deviation from Social Norm – every culture has certain standards for
acceptable behavior; behavior that deviates from that standard is considered
to be abnormal behavior. But those standards can change with time and vary
from one society to another.
3. Maladaptive Behavior – this third criterion is how the behavior affects the well-
being of the individual and/or social group. A man who attempts suicide or a
paranoid individual who tries to assassinate national leaders are illustrators
under this criterion. The two aspects of Maladaptive Behavior are:
a. Maladaptive to One’s self – it refers to the inability of a person to reach
goals or to adapt to the demands of life.
b. Maladaptive to Society – it refers to a person’s obstruction or disruption to
social group functioning.
4. Personal Distress – the fourth criterion considers abnormality in terms of the
individual's subjective feelings, personal distress, rather than his behavior.
Most people commonly diagnosed as ‘mentally ill’ feel miserable, anxious,
depressed, and may suffer from insomnia (Whitford, et.al., 2006).

Symptoms of Abnormal Behavior


The following are signs of abnormal behavior:
1. Long Periods of Discomfort – this could be anything as simple as worrying
about a calculus test or grieving the death of a loved one. This distress,
however, is related to a real, related, or threatened event and passes with time.

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2. Impaired Functioning – a distinction must be made between simply a passing
period of inefficiency and prolonged inefficiency which seems unexplainable.
For instance, a very brilliant person consistently fails in his classes or some
who constantly changes his jobs for no apparent reason.
3. Bizarre Behavior – has no rational basis seems to indicate that the individual
is confused.
4. Disruptive Behavior – means impulsive, apparently uncontrollable behavior
that disrupts the lives of others or deprives them of their human rights regularly.

What is Mental Disorder?


Mental Disorder refers to the significant impairment in psychological
functioning.

Types of Mental Disorder


The following are the types of mental disorders:
a. Psychosis –refers to a severe mental disorder characterized by a retreat from
reality, by hallucinations and delusions, and by social withdrawal.
b. Organic Mental Disorder – it refers to a mental or emotional problem caused
by brain disease or injuries.
c. Substance-related Disorder – refers to abuse or dependence on a mood-or-
behavior-altering drug.
d. Mood Disorder – it refers to a disturbance in mood or emotion, such as
depression or mania.
e. Anxiety Order – it refers to a disruptive feeling of fear, apprehension, or
anxiety, or distortion in behavior anxiety.
f. Somatoform Disorder – it refers to a physical symptom that mimics a disease
or an injury for which there is no identifiable physical cause.
g. Dissociative Disorder – refers to a psychological disorder that involves a
sudden loss of memory or change in identity.
h. Personal Disorder – it is a maladaptive personality pattern. It is a
psychological disorder that that is believed to have resulted from personalities
that developed improperly during childhood.
i. Sexual and Gender Identify Disorder – it refers to any of a wide range of
difficulties with sexual identity, deviant sexual behavior, or sexual adjustment.
j. Neurosis – it is an outdated term once used to refer, as a group, to anxiety
disorders, somatoform disorders, and some forms of depression.

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What is Insanity?

A person is insane if he/she is not able to judge between right and wrong. It is
the mental inability in managing one’s affairs or to be aware of the consequences of
one’s actions and it is established by the testimony of expert witnesses (Uriarte, 2009).
United States Federal Court legally defines insanity as the inability to
appreciate the nature and quality or wrongfulness of one’s acts (Redding, 2006).
The insanity that developed after the commission of the felony does not exempt
the offender. (U.S. vs. Guendia, 37 Phil. 337)

Rule of Intelligence in Criminal Case

What is McNaughton Rule?


In 1724 an English court maintained that a man was not responsible for
an act if “he does not know what he is doing, no more..a wild beast”. “At the time of
committing an act, the accused was laboring under such a defect of reason, from
disease of the mind, as not to know the nature and quality of the act he was doing or
if he did know it that he did not know what he was doing was wrong.”
What is Durham Rule?
The Durham rule state that, “an accused is not criminally responsible if his
unlawful act is the product of mental disease or mental defect.”

Segment 2. Psychosis and Neurosis


1. Psychosis – Psychosis came from the word “psyche”, for mind/soul, and “-
osis”, for the abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term
for a mental state often described as involving a “loss of contact with reality”.
People suffering from psychosis are said to be psychotic.

Symptoms of psychosis are the following:


a. Involution Reaction
b. Affective Reaction
c. Manic-Depressive Reaction
d. Schizophrenic Reaction

2. Neurosis – is a class of functional mental disorder involving distress but neither


delusions nor hallucinations, whereby behavior is not outside socially
acceptable norms.

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Symptoms of neurosis are the following:
a. Anxiety Reaction
b. Dissociative Reaction
c. Conversion Reaction
d. Phobic Reaction
e. Obsessive-Compulsive Reaction
f. Depressive Reaction

Segment 3. Criminal Behavior


What is Criminal Behavior?
It refers to injurious acts, acts prohibited under the law and that render the actor
subject to intervention by justice professionals (Lud-ayen, Review Notes on Human
Behavior, 2006).
According to Kalalang (2011), criminal behavior refers to criminal behavior; a
behavior, which violates a law.

What is the legal definition of Criminal Behavior?


Criminal behavior refers to actions that are prohibited by the state and punished
under the law.

Origins of Criminal Behavior


The following are possible sources of criminal behavior:
1. Biological Factor – heredity as a factor implies that criminal acts are
unavoidable, inevitable consequences of the bad seed or bad blood. The
following are some studies and theories related to biological causes of crime:
a. Born Criminal by Cesare Lombroso.
b. Physique and Crime by Cesare Lombroso’s Anthropology.
c. Duke and Kalikkak Study by Richard Dugdale and Henry Goddard.
d. Eysenck’s theory of personality and crime.

2. Personality Disorder Factor – refers to acts that exhibit a pervasive pattern of


disregard for and violation of the rights of others that begins in childhood or
early adolescence and continuous to adulthood such as Anti-Social Personality
Disorder.

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3. Learning Factor – explains that criminal behavior is learned primarily by
observing or listening to people around us.

Segment 4. Personality
Personality refers to the total of typing ways of acting, thinking, and feeling that
make each person unique. People are not like it. There are noticeable differences
in the ways they act, think, and feel. In other words, different people have a variety
of different personalities.

Two types of Personality According to Carl Jung


1. Introvert – is a person whose attention is focused inward. He/she is usually
a shy, and self-centered person.
2. Extrovert – is a person whose attention is directed outward. He/she is a
bold and outgoing person.

Six (6) Approaches to Personality

1. Psychoanalytic Approach – argues that people’s unconscious minds are


largely responsible for important differences in their behavior styles. The
psychoanalytic theory emphasizes childhood experiences as critically
important in shaping adult personality. It stresses the role of the unconscious
in motivating human actions. This theory was initiated by Sigmund Freud
(1856-1939).
2. Trait Approach – identifies where a person might lie along a continuum of
various personal characteristics. Trait refers to the characteristics of an
individual, describing a habitual way of behaving, thinking, and feeling (Wade,
et. al, 2003).

Hans Eysenk’s Personality Trait

Eysenk believed that many personalities are classified as introvert or extrovert,


and emotionally stable or unstable.
a. Extrovert – it refers to a person that is sociable, out-going, and active.
b. Introvert – it refers to a person that is withdrawn, quiet, and introspective.
c. Emotionally Unstable – it is a trait that is being anxious, excitable, and easily
disturbed.

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3. Biological Approach – points to inherited predispositions and physiological
processes to explain individual personality differences. It is a perspective that
emphasizes the role of biological processes and heredity as the key to
understanding behavior.
4. Humanistic Approach – identifies personal responsibility and feelings of self-
acceptance as the key causes of personality differences. This perspective
focuses on how humans have evolved and adapted behaviors required for
survival against various environmental pressures over the long course of
evolution.
5. Behavioral/Social Learning Approach – explains consistent behavior
patterns as the result of conditioning and expectations. This emphasizes the
role of the environment in shaping behavior.

What is Behavioral personality Theory?


It is a model of personality that emphasizes learning and observable behavior.

What is Social Learning Theory?


It is an explanation of personality that combines learning principles, cognition,
and the effects of social relationships.

What is Self-reinforcement?
It is a feeling of praising or rewarding oneself for having made a particular
response.

What is Identification?
It is a feeling from which one is emotionally connected to a person and a way
of seeing oneself as himself or herself. The child admires adults who love and care
for him/her and this encourages imitation.

6. Cognitive Approach – looks at differences in the way people process


information to explain differences in behavior. This perspective emphasizes the
role of mental processes that underlie behavior (Burger, 2000).

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1. Oral Stage (0-18 Months)
This is the first psychosexual stage in which the infant’s source
of id gratification is the mouth. Infants get pleasure from sucking and
swallowing. Later when he has teeth, the infant enjoys the aggressive
pleasure of biting and chewing. A child who is frustrated at this stage
may develop an adult personality that is characterized by pessimism,
envy, and suspicion.

2. Anal Stage (18 Months-3 Years)


When parents decide to toilet train their children during the anal
stage, the children learn how much control they can exert over others
with anal sphincter muscles. Children can have the immediate pleasure
of expelling feces, but that may cause their parents to punish them.

3. Phallic Stage (3-6 years)


Genitals become the primary source of pleasure. The child’s
erotic pleasure focuses
on masturbation, that is, on self-manipulation of the genitals. He
develops a sexual attraction to the parent of the opposite sex; boys
develop unconscious desires for their mother and become rivals with
their father for her affection. This is known as: (a.) Oedipus Complex
(b.) Electra Complex.

4. Latency Stage (6-11 years)


Sexual interest is relatively inactive in this stage. Sexual energy
is going through the
process of sublimation and is being converted into an interest in
schoolwork, riding bicycles playing houses, and sports.

5. Genital Stage (11 Years on)


This refers to the start of puberty and the genital stage; there is
renewed interest in obtaining sexual pleasure through the genitals.
Masturbation often becomes frequent and leads to orgasm for the
first time. Sexual and romantic interest in others also become a
central motive.

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REFERENCES:
1. Eduardo, J.P., Panganoron, C.R.,Human Behavior and Crisis Management,
2015
2. Gregorio, C. MA., Fundamentals of Criminal Law Review, 1997

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FACTORS ALTERING BEHAVIOR AND COPING MECHANISM
CHAPTER 2

INTRODUCTION:

This chapter orient the students on the factors affecting human


behavior such as emotion, conflict, depression, stress, frustration, and coping
mechanism. To understand how people learn to cope with the factors affecting
human behavior, it is important to first reflect on the different conceptualizations of
stress and how coping research has emerged alongside distinct approaches to
factors affecting behavior.

OBJECTIVES
On successful completion of the unit, students should be able to:
1. Define emotion, conflict, depression, stress, frustration, and coping
mechanisms.
2. Understand the various theories of emotion.
3. Recognize the symptoms and causes of depression, stress, and frustration.
4. Understand the role of coping mechanisms.

LESSON PROPER:

Segment 1. Emotion
Emotion refers to feelings affective responses as a result of
physiological arousal, thoughts and beliefs, subjective evaluation, and bodily
expression. It is a state characterized by facial expressions, gestures, postures, and
subjective feelings (Uriarte, 2009).

Theories of Emotions are:

1. James- Lange Theory by William James and Carl Lange- James- Lange
theory states that emotion results from physiological states triggered by stimuli
in the environment: emotion occurs after physiological reactions.
2. Cannon-Bard Theory by Walter Cannon and Philip Bard- This suggests that
people feel emotions first and then act upon them. This is a theory that emotion
and physiological reactions occur simultaneously.

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Example: I see a man outside my window. I am afraid. I begin to
perspire.

Model for Cannon-Bard Theory

Stimulus (Bear) Emotion (Fear) Reaction


(Run Away)

3. Two Factor Theory- This theory was provided by Schachter & Singer, in
which they posited that emotion is the cognitive interpretation of a physiological
response.

Segment 2. Conflict
Conflict is a stressful condition that occurs when a person must choose
between incompatible or contradictory alternatives. Conflict is the state in which two or
more motives cannot be satisfied because they interfere with one another (Lahey,
2001).

Types of Conflict

1. Physiological Conflict (Internal Conflict)- Physiological conflict could be


going on inside the person and no one would know (instinct may be at odds
with Values).
2. Social Conflict- The different kinds of social conflict are:
a. Interpersonal Conflict;
b. Two individuals me against you;
c. Inter-group Struggles- us against them;
d. Individual Opposing a Group- me against them, them against me;
e. Intra-group Conflict- members of the group are all against each
other on a task.

3. Approach- Avoidance- Conflict can be described as having features of


approach and avoidance: approach- approach; avoidance- avoidance;
approach-avoidance. Approach speaks to things that we want while Avoidance
refers to things that we do not want.

Kinds of Approach- Avoidance

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a. Approach- Approach Conflict- In Approach- Approach conflict,
the individual must choose between two positive goals of
approximately equal value. In this, two pleasing things are wanted
but only one option should be chosen.

Example: Choice between two colleges, two roommates, or two ways


of spending the summer.

b. Avoidance- Avoidance Conflict- Avoidance- Avoidance conflict


involves more obvious sources of stress. The individual must
choose between two or more negative outcomes.

Example: Study or do dishes. I don’t want this and I don’t want that.

c. Approach- Avoidance Conflict- Approach- Avoidance conflict


exists when there is an attractive and unattractive part to both sides.
It arises when obtaining a positive goal necessitates a negative
outcome as well.

Example: Gina is beautiful but she is lazy.

d. Multiple- Approach- Avoidance Conflict- this refers to conflict with


complex combinations of approach and avoidance conflicts. It
requires individuals to choose between alternatives that contain
both positive and negative consequences (Lahey, 2001).

Functional vs. Dysfunctional Conflict

a. Dysfunctional Conflict- There is a dysfunctional conflict if conflict


disrupts, hinders job performance, and upsets personal-
psychological functioning.
b. Functional Conflict- There is a functional conflict if a conflict is
responsive and innovative aiding in creativity and viability.

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Segment 3. Depression
Depression is an illness that causes a person to feel sad and hopeless
much of the time. It is different from normal feelings of sadness, grief, or low energy.
Anyone can have depression.

Causes of Depression

a. Major events create stress, such as childbirth or a death in the family.


b. Illnesses, such as arthritis, heart disease, or cancer.
c. Center medicines, such as steroids or narcotics for pain relief.
d. Drinking alcohol or using illegal drugs.

Symptom of Depression
People who are depressed may:
a. Think and speak more slowly than normal.
b. Have trouble concentrating, remembering, and making decisions.
c. Have changes in their eating and sleeping habits.
d. Lose interest in things they enjoyed before they were depressed.
e. Have feelings of guilt and hopefulness, wondering if life is worth living.
f. Think a lot about death or suicide.
g. Complain about problems that don’t have a physical cause, such as headache
and stomachache (Zemia, 2012).

What are the different forms of depression?

1. Major Depressive Disorder – this is also called major depression. It is


characterized by a combination of symptoms that interfere with a person’s ability
to work, sleep, study, eat, and enjoy once pleasurable activities.
2. Dysthymic Disorder (or also referred to as Dysthymia) – the symptoms do not
occur for more than 2 months at a time. Manifest nearly constant depressed mode
for at least 2 years accompanied by at least two (or more) of the following:
a. Decrease or increase in eating;
b. Difficulty sleeping or increase in sleeping;
c. Low energy or fatigue.
d. Low-self-esteem;
e. Difficulty concentrating or making decisions; and
f. Feeling hopeless.

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3. Psychotic Depression – this occurs when a severe depressive illness is
accompanied by some form of psychosis, such as a break with reality,
hallucinations, and delusions.
4. Postpartum Depression – This is a depressive episode that occurs after having
a baby. A mother develops a major depressive episode within one month after
delivery.
5. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) – this is characterized by the onset of a
depressive illness during the winter months when there is less natural sunlight.
The depression generally lifts during spring and summer. SAD may be effectively
treated with light therapy alone.
6. Bipolar Disorder – This is also called manic-depressive illness. Bipolar disorder
is characterized by cyclical mood changes –from extreme highs to extreme lows.
7. Endogenous Depression – means from within the body. This type of depression
is defined as feeling depressed for no apparent reason.
8. Situational Depression or Reactive Depression (also known as Adjustment
Disorder with Depressed Mood) – depressive symptoms develop in response to
a specific stressful situation or event.
9. Agitated Depression – this kind of major depressive disorder is characterized by
agitation such as physical and emotional restlessness, irritability, and insomnia.

How to battle depression?


The following are means of resolving depression:
a. Socializing – eating out, movies, ballgames with family and friends.
b. Helping others in need – volunteer work, feeding the homeless, etc.
c. Praying – works for all moods, especially depression.

Segment 4. Stress
Stress refers to the consequence of the failure of an organism human or animal
- to respond appropriately to emotional or physical threats, whether actual or imagined.

What is Stressor?
A stressor is anything (physical or psychological) that produces stress
(negative or positive). For example, getting a promotion is a positive event, but may
also produce a great deal of stress with all the new responsibilities, workload, etc.
1. Eustress (Positive) – it means “good stress”. It is stress that is healthy or gives
one a feeling of fulfillment or other positive feelings.

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2. Distress (Negative) – Distress is known as negative stress. Persistent stress
that is not resolved through coping or adaptation, deemed stress, may lead to
anxiety to anxiety or withdrawal (depression) behavior.

Effects of Distress are:


a. Ineffectiveness at tasks, b. self-defeating behavior c.
transitional suicidal behavior
d. anxiety and fear e. loss of interest and initiative f. poor
decision-making
g. dangerous action h. accident, and i. apathy
and cynicism

Three Stages of Stress

1. Alarm – is the first stage. When the threat or stressor is identified or realized,
the body’s stress response is a state of alarm. During this stage, adrenaline will
be produced to bring about the fight-or-flight response.
2. Resistance – is the second stage. If the stressor persists, it becomes
necessary to attempt some means of coping with the stress. Although the body
begins to try to adapt to the strains or demands of the environment, the body
cannot keep this up indefinitely, so its resources are gradually depleted.
3. Exhaustion – is the third and final stage in the General Arousal Syndrome
(GAS) model. At this point, all of the body resources are eventually depleted
and the body is unable to maintain normal function. The initial autonomic
nervous system symptoms may reappear sweating, raised heart rate, etc.

Segment 5. Frustration
Frustration is a negative emotional state that occurs when one is prevented
from reaching a goal. Frustration is an unpleasant state of tension and heightened
sympathetic activity, resulting from a blocked goal.

What is External Frustration?


External Frustration is distress caused by the outwardly perceivable condition
that impedes progress toward a goal.

What is Personal Frustration?

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Personal Frustration is distress caused by the individual’s inner characteristic
that impedes progress toward a goal (Uriarte, 2009).

Sources of Frustration
1. Physical Obstacles such as: drought, typhoons, flat tire, etc. that prevent a
person from doing his plans or fulfilling his wishes.
2. Social Circumstances such as: obstacles through the restrictions imposed
by other people and customs and laws of social being.
3. Personal Shortcomings such as: handicapped by disease, blindness,
deafness, or paralysis.
4. Conflicts between Motives such as: wanting to leave college for a year to try
painting, but also wanting to please one’s parents by remaining in school.

The following are common responses to frustration:

1. Aggression –refers to any response made with the intent of harming some
person or objects. The intentional infliction may be physical or psychological
harm.
2. Displaced Aggression – it refers to the redirecting or aggression to a target
other than the actual source of one’s frustration.
3. Scapegoating –refers to the act of blaming a person or group of people for
conditions, not of their making.
4. Escape – it is the act of reducing discomfort by leaving a frustrating situation
or by psychologically withdrawing from them such as apathy (pretending not to
care) or illegal drug use.

Stage 6. Coping Mechanism vs. Defense Mechanism


Coping mechanisms are the total of ways in which people deal with minor to
major stress and trauma. Some of these processes are unconscious ones, others are
learned behavior, and still, others are skills that individuals consciously master to
reduce stress or other intense emotions like depression.

Defense mechanisms refer to an individual’s way of reacting to frustration.


These are unconscious psychological strategies brought into play by various entities
to cope with reality and to maintain self-image.

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The following is the complete list of coping mechanisms:

1. Acting out 10. Displacement 19. Passive Aggression 28. Self-harming


2. Aim inhibition 11. Dissociation 20. Performing rituals 29. Somatization
3. Altruism 12. Emotionality 21. Post-traumatic growth 30. Sublimation
4. Attack 13. Fantasy 22. Projection 31. Substitution
5. Avoidance 14. Help-rejecting complaining 23. Provocation 32. Suppression
6. Compartmentalization 15. Idealization 24. Rationalization 33. Symbolization
7. Compensation 16. Identification 25. Reaction Formation 34. Trivializing
8. Conversion 17. Intellectualization 26. Regression 35. Undoing
9. Denial 18. Introjection 27. Repression 36. Positive coping

1. Acting out – this means acting out the desires that are forbidden by the
Superego and yet desired by the Id. We thus cope with the pressure to do what
we believe is wrong by giving in to the desire.
Example: An addict gives in to his/her desire for alcohol or drugs.
2. Aim Inhibition – sometimes we have desires and goals that we believe or
realize that we are unable to achieve. In aim inhibition, we lower our sights,
reducing our goals to something that we believe is more possible or realistic.
Example: A person who sexually desires another person but is unable to fulfill
that desire (for example the other person is married) convinces himself/herself
that all he/she wants is to be friends.
3. Altruism – avoid your pains by concentrating on the pains of others. Maybe
you can heal yourself and feel good by healing them and helping them to feel
good.
Example: A self-made millionaire who grew up in poverty sets up a charitable
foundation and gains great pleasure from how it helps others get out of the
poverty trap.
4. Attack – the best form of defense is attacked is a common saying and is also
a common action, and when we feel threatened or attacked (even
psychologically), we will attack back.
Example: A person is having problems with his/her computer. He/she angrily
bang the keyboard.
5. Avoidance – In avoidance, we simply find ways of avoiding having to face
uncomfortable situations, things, or activities.
Example: I dislike another person at work. I avoid walking past his/her desk.
When people talk about him/her, I say nothing.

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6. Compartmentalization – it is a ‘divide and conquers’ process for separating
thoughts that will conflict with another.
Example: A person who is very religious and is also a scientist holds opposing
beliefs in different cognitive compartments.
7. Compensation – Where a person has a weakness in one area, they may
compensate by accentuating or building up strengths in another area.
Example: A person who failed in Math excelled in English.
8. Conversion – Conversion occurs where cognitive tensions manifest
themselves in physical symptoms.
Example: A person’s arm becomes suddenly paralyzed after it has been used
to threaten to hit someone else.
9. Denial – This is simply refusing to acknowledge that an event has occurred.
The person affected simply acts as if nothing has happened, behaving in ways
that others may see as bizarre.
Example: Alcoholics vigorously deny that they have a problem.
10. Displacement – It refers to the shifting of actions from the desired target to a
substitute target when there are some reasons why the first target is not
permitted or not available.
Example: The boss gets angry and shouts at me. I go home and shout at my
wife. She then shouts at our son.
11. Dissociation – involves separating a set of thoughts or activities from the main
area of the conscious mind, to avoid the conflict that this would cause.
Example: A religious person preaches kindness to all, yet is cruelly strict to
children, without realizing that there is a conflict between the two.
12. Emotionality- When we become stressed or tension is caused several
negative emotions may start to build, including anger, frustration, fear, jealousy,
and so on. When we display these emotions it can affect others around us,
arousing similar or polar feelings.
Example: Teenagers often cannot contain the emotions caused by
physiological and temporal development. As a result, they can be very
emotional and can contribute significantly to family problems.
13. Fantasy or Day Dreaming – When we cannot achieve or do something that
we want, we channel the energy created by the desire into fantastic imaginings.
Example: A boy who is punished by a teacher creates fantasies of shooting
the teacher.

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14. Fight-or-Flight Reaction – When we perceive a significant threat to us, then
our bodies get ready either for a fight to the death or a desperate flight from a
certain defeat by a superior adversary.
Example: A lion suddenly appeared in front of a person while walking in the
forest. That person may choose to wrestle the lion or run to save his life.
15. Help- rejecting Complaining – A person becomes upset or otherwise elicits
supporting actions from other people. When helpful suggestions or other
comfort is offered, however, he/she reject this and return to his/her complaint.
Example: A person complains to his/her partner about problems at work. When
the partner suggests ways of resolving the problems, the solutions are rejected
out of hand and the person continues to complain.
16. Idealization – it is the over-estimation of the desirable qualities and
underestimation of the limitations of the desired thing. The opposite of
Idealization is Demonization, where something that is not desired or disliked
has its weak points exaggerated and its strong points played down.
Example: A teenager in awe of a rock star idealizes his/her idol, imagining
him/her to have a perfect life, to be kind and thoughtful, and so on. He/she
ignore the star’s grosser habits and rough background.
17. Identification – it occurs when a person changes apparent facets of his/her
personality such that he/she appears to be more like other people.
Example: A girl dresses like her friends, as much because she likes the garb
as any conscious desire to be like them.
18. Intellectualization – This refers to a ‘flight into reason’, where the person
avoids uncomfortable emotions by focusing on facts and logic.
Example: A person who is in heavy debt builds a complex spreadsheet of how
long it would take to repay using different payment options and interest rates.
19. Introjection – occurs as a coping mechanism when we take on attributes of
other people who seem better able to cope with the situation than we do.
Example: I have to give a presentation but feel scared.
20. Passive Aggression – A person who uses a passive-aggressive method to
cope with stresses does this by attacking others through passive means.
Example: A change manager asks people to change what they do. They agree
but do not do what they agreed to do.
21. Post-traumatic Growth – An individual who has suffered a traumatic
experience somehow finds ways to turn it into something good. Typically
Interpersonal relationships are improved, with friends and family valued more
and more time being spent in helping others.

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Example: A mother who has lost a child to cancer raises significant money for
cancer charities.
22. Projection – When a person has uncomfortable thoughts or feelings he/she
may project these onto other people, assigning the thoughts or feelings that
he/she need to repress to a convenient alternative target. The projection may
also happen to obliterate attributes of other people with which we are
uncomfortable.
Example: An unfaithful husband suspects his wife of infidelity.
23. Provocation or Free-floating – When a person feels stressed, his/her way to
avoid dealing with the real issues is to provoke others into some kind of
reaction.
Example: A very common context for provocation is between teenagers and
their parents, siblings, and teachers. The teenager deliberately does something
reprehensible, gets told off, and then blames the other person.
24. Reaction Formation – Reaction Formation occurs when a person feels an
urge to do or say something and then actually does or says something that is
effectively the opposite of what he/she wants.
Example: A person who is angry with a colleague ends up being particularly
courteous and friendly towards him/her.
25. Rationalization- When something happens that we find difficult to accept, then
we will make up a logical reason why it has happened.
Example: A person fails to get good enough results to get into a chosen
university and then says that he/she didn’t want to go there anyway.
26. Regression – Regression involves taking the position of a child in some
problematic situation, rather than acting in a more adult way.
Example: A college student carefully takes his/her teddy bear with him/her.
27. Repression – Repression involves placing uncomfortable thoughts in relatively
inaccessible areas of the subconscious mind.
Example: A child who is abused by a parent later has no recollection of the
events, but has trouble forming relationships.
28. Self-harming – The person physically deliberately hurts himself/herself in
some way or otherwise puts themselves at high risk of harm.
Examples: a. Slapping oneself, b. Punching a hard wall, c. Cutting oneself with
a knife, d. Reckless driving, e. Taking narcotic drugs.
29. Somatization – Somatization occurs where a psychological problem turns into
physical and subconscious symptoms. This can range from simple switching to
skin rashes, heart problems, and worse.

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Example: A policeman, who has to be very restricted in his professional
behavior, develops hypertension.
30. Sublimation – it is the transformation of unwanted impulses into something
less harmful. This can simply be a distracting release or maybe a constructive
and valuable piece of work.
Example: I am angry. I go out and chop wood. I end up with a useful pile of
firewood. I am also fitter and nobody is harmed.
31. Suppression – This is where the person consciously and deliberately pushes
down any thought that leads to feelings of anxiety.
Example: An older man has sexual feelings towards a teenager and quickly
suppresses the thought.
32. Substitution – This takes something that leads to discomfort and replaces it
with something that does not lead to discomfort.
Example: Rather than making a difficult phone call, I call my daughter for a
chat.
33. Symbolization – Symbolization is a way of handling inner conflicts by turning
them into distinct symbols. Symbols are often physical items, although there
may also be symbolic acts and metaphoric ideas,
Example: A soldier explains his decision to join the army as defending the flag.
34. Trivializing – When we are faced with disappointment over something
important to us, we are faced with the problem of having our expectations and
predictions dashed.
Example: A girl rejects the advances of a boy. He tells his friends that she isn’t
that pretty anyway.
35. Undoing – It refers to the performance of an act to undo a previous
unacceptable act or thought.
Example: A man who has been unkind to his wife buys her flowers (but does
not apologize).
36. Positive Coping – There are some approaches that we can take to cope
positively with problems, including:
a. Immediate problem-solving: Seeking to fix the problem that is the
immediate cause of our difficulty.
b. Root-cause solving: Seeking to fix the underlying cause such that the
problem will never recur.
c. Benefit-finding: Looking for the good things amongst the bad.
d. Spiritual growth: Finding ways of turning the problem into a way to
grow spiritually or emotionally.

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Example: A student fails an exam. He/she views it as an opportunity to deepen
his/her learning and study hard (Changing Minds, 2002-2013).

REFERENCES:
1. Eduardo, J.P.,Panganosan, C. R Human Behavior and Crisis Management,
2015
2. https://explorable .com

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PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS
CHAPTER 3

INTRODUCTION:

It is generally accepted that a psychological disorder is a significant disturbance


in thoughts, feelings, and behavior; these disturbances must reflect some kind of
dysfunction (biological, psychological, or developmental), must cause significant
impairment in one’s life.
In this chapter, students can learn about how disorders are defined, and also
how they are diagnosed and classified.

OBJECTIVES:
At the end of this chapter, the student will be able to:
1. Understand the inherent difficulties in defining the concept of psychological
disorder.
2. Discuss harmful dysfunction.
3. Identify the symptoms of a psychological disorder.
4. Recognize the role of a Psychopathologist.

LESSON PROPER:

Segment 1. Anxiety Disorder


Anxiety is a psychological disorder that involves excessive levels of negative
emotions, such as nervousness, tension, worry, fright, and anxiety. It is a generalized
feeling of apprehension, fear, or tension that may be associated with a particular object
or situation or maybe free-floating, not associated with anything specific. Anxiety can
cause such distress that it interferes with a person’s ability to lead a normal life (Lahey,
2001).

What is the difference between Anxiety and Fear?


Anxiety is defined as an unpleasant emotional state for which the cause is
either not readily identified or perceived to be uncontrollable or unavoidable, whereas,
fear is an emotional and physiological response to a recognized external threat or a
response to real danger or threat.

What are the Symptoms of an Anxiety Disorder?

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Symptoms vary depending on the type of anxiety disorder, but general
symptoms include:
➢ The feeling of panic, fear, and uneasiness
➢ Uncontrollable, obsessive thoughts
➢ Repeated thoughts or flashbacks of traumatic experiences
➢ Nightmares
➢ Ritualistic behaviors, such as repeated hand washing
➢ Problems sleeping
➢ Cold or sweaty hands and/or feet
➢ Shortness of breath
➢ Palpitations
➢ An inability to be still and calm
➢ Dry mouth
➢ Numbness or tingling in the hands or feet
➢ Nausea
➢ Muscle tension
➢ Dizziness

What are the Types of Anxiety Disorder?


There are several recognized types of anxiety disorders, including:

1. Generalized Anxiety Disorder – This disorder involves excessive, unrealistic


worry and tension, even if there is little or nothing to provoke the anxiety.
Accordingly, symptoms include restlessness or feeling keyed up, difficulty
concentrating, irritability, muscle tension and jitteriness, deep disturbance, and
unwanted, intrusive worries.
2. Observe-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) – People with OCD are plagued by
constant thoughts or fears that cause them to perform certain rituals or routines.
The disturbing thoughts are called obsessions – are anxiety-provoking
thoughts that will not go away (ex.: one may have repetitive thoughts of killing
a child, of becoming contaminated by a handshake, or of having unknowingly
hurt someone in a traffic accident; and the rituals are called compulsions –
are irresistible urges to engage in behavior (ex.: a person with a reasonable
fear of germs who constantly washes his or her hands, compulsive counting,
and checking.
3. Panic Disorder – This disorder keeps recurring attacks on a person of intense
fear or panic, often with feelings of the impending doom of death. Other

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symptoms of a panic attack include sweating, chest pain, palpitations (irregular
heartbeats), and a feeling of choking, which may make the person feel like he
or she is having a heart attack or “going crazy.”
4. Post –Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – is a condition that can develop
following a traumatic and/or terrifying event, such as a sexual or physical
assault, the unexpected death of a loved one, or a natural disaster. People with
PTSD often have lasting and frightening thoughts and memories of the event
and tend to be emotionally numb.
5. Specific Phobias – is an intense fear of a specific object or situation, such as
snakes, heights, or flying. Phobia is an exaggerated, unrealistic fear of a
specific situation, activity, or object.
Acrophobia – fear of heights Hematophobia – fear of blood
Allorophobia – fear of cats Hodophobia – fear of travels
Amaxophobia – fear of vehicles or Homilophobia – fear of sermons
driving
Anuptaphobia – fear of staying single Kinesophobia – fear of motion
Aquaphobia – fear of water or swimming Kopophobia – fear of mental or physical
exams
Arachnophobia – fear of spiders Lygophobia – fear of the dark
Astraphobia – fear of storms, thunder, Mersophobia – fear the darkness
and lightning
Airophobia – fear of flying, airplanes Microphobia – fear of germs
Biblophobia – fear of books Nyctophobia – fear of darkness
Blennophobia – fear of slime Ocholophobia – fear of crowds
Bogyphobia – fear of demons Odontiatophobia – fear of the dentist
Cathisophobia – fear of sitting down Ophiophobia – fear of snakes
Cibophobia – fear of food Opthalomophobia – fear of being stared
at
Claustrophobia – fear of confinement Onomatophobia – fear of certain words or
name
Coitophobia – fear of sexual intercourse Panophobia – fear of everything
Cremnophobia – fear of precipices Paralipophobia – fear of responsibility
Cynophobia – fear of dogs Pathophobia – fear of disease
Demophobia – fear of crowds Philophobia – fear of falling in love or
being loved

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Dromophobia – fear of crossing streets Phobophobia – fear of fears
Ecophobia – fear of home Pyrophobia – fear of fire
Entomophobia – fear of insects Phyrotophobia – fear of getting wrinkles
Gamophobia – fear of marriage Selenophobia – fear of the moon
Gephyrophobia – fear of marriage Telephonophobia – fear of using
telephone
Geascophobia – fear of crossing a Trophopobhia – fear of moving
bridge
Gymnophobia – fear of nudity Thanotophobia – fear of death or dying
Hamatophobia – fear of sins or sinning Zenophobia – fear of strangers

Hapephobia – fear of touching, or being Zoophobia – fear of animals in general


touched
Lifted from: http://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/guide/mentalhealthanxietydisorders

6. Social Anxiety Disorder – This is also called social phobia. It involves


overwhelming worry and self-consciousness about everyday social situations.
The worry often centers on a fear of being judged by others or behaving in a
way that might cause embarrassment or lead to ridicule (Wade, 2004).
Three types of anxiety according to Freud

1. Reality Anxiety – refers to the fear of real dangers in the external world.
2. Neurotic Anxiety – refers to the fear that instinct will get out of control and
cause the person to do something for which he or she will be punished.
3. Moral Anxiety – is the fear of conscience. People with well-developed
superegos tend to feel guilty when they do something contrary to the moral
code by which they have been raised (Hall and Lindzey, 1978).

Segment 2. Delusional Disorder: False Belief

Delusional disorder is sometimes referred to as paranoia; delusions are


false, sometimes even preposterous, beliefs that are not part of the person’s culture.
One might think he is Jesus Christ; another Napoleon (King, 2008).

Types of Delusional Disorder

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1. Persecutory Type (Delusion of persecution) – the person of this type
believes that he or she is being threatened or mistreated by others.
2. Grandiose Type (Delusion of Grandeur) – victims of this disorder believe that
they are extraordinarily important people or are possessed with extraordinary
power, knowledge, or ability.
3. Jealous Type – this delusion centers on the suspected unfaithfulness of a
spouse or sexual partner. This delusion is more common than others.
4. Erotomanic Type – this is a type of delusional disorder where a person has
an erotic delusion that he/she is loved by another person, especially by
someone famous or of higher status.
5. Guilt Delusion – this person believes he/she has done something wrong.

Segment 3. Mood Disorder

Mood Disorder are disorders characterized by extreme and unwanted disturbances in


feeling or mood. These are major disturbances in one’s condition of emotion such as
depression and mania. It is otherwise known as affective disorder (DSM-IV-TR, 2004).

What are the symptoms of a mood disorder?


Depression symptoms include:

a. Sadness e. Despair i. Changes in appetite


b. Difficulty a. Sense of j. Feelings of
sleeping inferiority incompetence
c. Fatigue a. Dejection k. Loss of interest
d. Hopelessness a. Exaggerated l. Inability to function
guilt effectively

Types of Mood Disorder


1. Bipolar Disorder – in bipolar disorder, formerly known as manic-depression,
there are swings in mood from elation (extreme happiness) to depression
(extreme sadness with no discernable external cause.

Two Phases of, Bipolar


a. Manic Phase – during the manic phase of this disorder, the patient may
show excessive, unwarranted excitement or silliness, carrying jokes too
far.

27 | P a g e
b. Depressive Episode – bipolar depressed patients often sleep more
than usual and are lethargic. During bipolar depressive episodes, a
patient may also show irritability and withdrawal.
Accordingly (Wade, 2004), the depressed person speaks slowly and monotonously
while the manic person speaks rapidly, dramatically, often with many jokes and puns.
The depressed person has low self-esteem while the manic person has inflated self-
esteem.

2. Depressive Disorder – is when the person experiences extended,


unexplainable periods of sadness.

Three Types of Depressive Disorder


a. Major Depressive Disorder – a person suffering from the major depressive
disorder is in a depressed mood for most of the day, nearly every day, or has
lost interest or pleasure in all, or almost all, activities, for at least two weeks.
b. Single Episode – depression is like major depression only it strikes in one
dramatic episode.
c. Recurrent – depression is an extended pattern of depressed episodes.
Depressed episodes can include any of the features of major depressive
disorder (Santrock, 2003).

Segment 4. Personality Disorder


Types of Personality Disorder: Cluster A, B & C

Cluster A: Odd or Eccentric Behaviors


1. Schizoid Personality Disorder (SPD) – those with SPD may be perceived by
others as somber, aloof, and often are referred to as “loners”.
Manifestations:
a. Social isolation and a lack of desire for close personal relationships.
b. Prefers to be alone and seems withdrawn and emotionally detached.
c. Seem indifferent to praise or criticism from other people.
2. Paranoid Personality Disorder (PPD) – although they are prone to an
unjustified angry or aggressive outburst when they perceive others as disloyal
or deceitful, those with PPD more often come across as emotionally “cold” or
excessively serious.
Manifestations:

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a. They feel constant suspicion and distrust toward other people.
b. They believe that others are against them and constantly look for evidence
to support their suspicions.
c. They are hostile toward others and react angrily to perceived insults.
3. Schizotypal Personality Disorder (SPD) – this disorder is characterized both
by a need for isolation as well as odd, outlandish, or paranoid beliefs. Some
researches suggest this disorder is less severe than schizophrenia.
Manifestations:
a. They engage in odd thinking, speech, and behavior.
b. They may ramble or use words and phrases in unusual ways.
c. They may believe they have magical control over others.
d. They feel very uncomfortable with close personal relationships and tend to
be suspicious of others.

Cluster B. Dramatic, Emotional, or Erratic Behaviors


1. Antisocial Personality Disorder (APB) – is characterized by lack of empathy
or conscience, difficulty controlling impulses, and manipulative behaviors.
Antisocial behavior in people less than 18 years old is called conduct disorder.
Manifestations:
a. Act in a way that disregards the feelings and rights of other people.
b. Anti-social personalities often break the law.
c. Use or exploit other people for their gain.
d. They may lie repeatedly, act impulsive, and get into physical fights.
e. They may mistreat their spouse, neglect or abuse their children and exploit
their employees.
f. They may even kill other people.
g. People with the disorder are also sometimes called sociopaths or
psychopaths.

People with this disorder are at high risk for premature and violent
deaths, injury, imprisonment, loss of employment, bankruptcy, alcoholism, drug
dependence, and failed personal relationships.
2. Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) – this mental illness interferes with
an individual’s ability to regulate emotion. Borderlines are highly sensitive to
rejection, and fear of abandonment may result in frantic efforts to avoid being
left alone, such as suicide threats and attempts.
Manifestations:

29 | P a g e
a. They have intense emotional instability, particularly in relationship with
other.
b. They make frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment by others.
c. They may experience minor problems as major crises.
d. They express their anger, frustration, and dismay through suicidal gestures,
self-mutilation, and other self-destructive acts.
e. They tend to have an unstable self-image or sense of self.

Borderline personalities are at high risk for developing depression, alcoholism,


drug dependence, and bulimia; dissociate disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

3. Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) – is characterized primarily by


grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy. Narcissistic tend to be
extremely self-absorbed, intolerant of others' perspectives, insensitive to
others' needs, and indifferent to the effect of their egocentric behavior.
Manifestations:
a. They are the grandiose sense of self-importance.
b. They seek excessive admiration from others and fantasize about unlimited
success or power.
c. They believe they are special, unique, or superior to others. However, they
often have very fragile self-esteem.
4. Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD) – individuals with this personality
disorder exhibit a pervasive pattern of excessive emotional and attempt to get
attention in unusual ways, such as bizarre appearance or speech.
Manifestations:
a. They strive to be the center of attention.
b. They act overly flirtatious or dress in ways that draw attention.
c. They may also talk in theatrical style and display exaggerated emotional
reactions.

Cluster C: Anxious, Fearful Behaviors


1. Avoidant Personality Disorder (APD) – those with avoidant personalities are
often hypersensitive to rejection and unwilling to take social risks. Avoidant
displays a high level of social discomfort, timidity, fear of criticism, avoidance
of activities that involve interpersonal contact.

Manifestations:

30 | P a g e
a. They possess intense, anxious shyness.
b. They are reluctant to interact with others unless they feel certain of being
liked.
c. They fear being criticized and rejected.
d. They often view themselves as socially inept and inferior to others.

2. Dependent Personality Disorder (DPD) – people with the dependent disorder


typically exhibits a pattern of needy and submissive behavior, and rely on
others to make decisions for them.
Manifestations:
a. They have severe and disabling emotional dependency on others.
b. They have difficulty in making decisions without a great deal of advice and
reassurance from others.
c. They urgently seek out another relationship when a close relationship ends.
d. They feel uncomfortable by themselves.
3. Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD) – individuals with
OCPD, also called Anankastic Personality Disorder, are so focused on order
and perfection that they lack flexibility interferes with productivity and efficiency.
They can also be workaholics, preferring the control of working alone, as they
are afraid that work completed by others will not be done correctly.
Manifestations:
a. They have a preoccupation with details, orderliness, perfection, and control.
b. They devote excessive amounts of time to work and productivity and fail to
take time for leisure activities and friendships.
c. They tend to be rigid, formal, stubborn, and serious.

Segment 5. Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a group of disorders characterized by loss of contact with


reality, marked disturbances of thought and perception, and bizarre behavior. At some
phase delusions or hallucinations almost always occur.

Schizophrenic Hallucinations
1. Tactile (touch) – People with schizophrenia often have the sensation that there
are things (like bugs and insects) crawling across the skin.
2. Visual (sight) – This kind of hallucination causes the person to see things that
are not there.

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3. Auditory (hearing) – This is the most common type of hallucination. People
with auditory hallucinations hear voices and sounds that others cannot hear.
4. Olfactory (smell) – The person experiencing an olfactory hallucination smells
things (usually foul-smelling things) that others do not smell.
5. Command (hearing) – When a voice commands the person to do something
he/she would not ordinarily do.

Characteristics of Schizophrenia
1. Disturbance of Thoughts and Attention – People suffering from
schizophrenia often cannot think logically and as a result of this they cannot
write a story, because every word they write down might make sense but are
meaningless to each other, and they cannot keep their attention to the writing.
a. Persecutory Delusion – the schizophrenic believes that he/she is being
talked about, spied upon, or his/her death is planned.
b. Delusions of Reference – the schizophrenic give personal importance to
completely unrelated incidents, objects, or people.
2. Disturbances of Perception – during acute schizophrenic episodes, people
say that the world appears different to them, their bodies appear longer, colors
seem more intense and they cannot recognize themselves in a mirror.
3. Disturbances of Affect – Schizophrenic persons fail to show ‘normal’
emotions (e.g. recounting an experience of serious horror while chuckling or a
patient may smile while talking over tragic events).
4. Withdrawal from Reality – during schizophrenic episodes, the individual
becomes absorbed in his inner thoughts and fantasies. The self-absorption
may be so intense that the individual may not know the month or day or the
place where he is staying.
5. Delusions and Hallucinations – in most cases it is accompanied by
delusions. Delusions are inflexible misleading beliefs. They appear as a result
of exaggerations or distortions of reasoning, as well as false interpretations of
things and events.

Kinds of Schizophrenia
1. Paranoid Schizophrenia – if a person has paranoid schizophrenia, he or she:
a. Is very suspicious of others,
b. Has great schemes of persecution at the root of the behavior.
c. Has hallucinations and delusions which are also the symptoms of this type
of schizophrenia,

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d. Displays the psychotic symptoms.

2. Residual Schizophrenia – residual schizophrenia is usually:


a. Expressed through a person’s having no motivation or interest in everyday
life.
b. Advised when an individual has been through at least one episode of
schizophrenia (6 months) but then “recover”.
3. Disorganized Schizophrenia (Hebephrenic Schizophrenia) – this
schizophrenia is characterized by:
a. The person is incoherent verbally and to his/her feeling,
b. Expressing emotions that are not appropriate to the situation.

4. Catatonic Schizophrenia – a person diagnosed with catatonic schizophrenia


is:
a. Extremely withdrawn, negative, isolated, and has obvious psychomotor
disturbances.
b. The subject may be almost immobile or exhibit agitated purposeless
movement,
c. Symptoms can include catatonic stupor and waxy flexibility.
5. Undifferentiated Schizophrenia – people with Undifferentiated
Schizophrenia exhibit the symptoms of more than one of the above-mentioned
types of Schizophrenia, but without a clear predominance of a particular set of
diagnostic characteristics.

Segment 6. Sexual Disorders


Sexual dysfunction is a disorder related to a particular phase of the sexual
response cycle. Sexual disorders include problems of sexual identity, sexual
performance, and sexual aim.

Category I. Sexual Dysfunction


Sexual dysfunction is a persistent or recurrent problem that causes marked
distress and interpersonal difficulty and that may involve any or some combination of
the following:
a. Sexual arousal or the pleasure associated with sex or
b. Orgasm.

What is the Human Sexual Response Cycle?

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The Human Sexual Response Cycle is a four-stage model of physiological
responses during sexual stimulation.

1. Excitement Phase – it is also known as the arousal phase or initial excitement


phase. It is the first stage of the Human Sexual Response Cycle. It occurs as
the result of any erotic physical or mental stimulation, such as kissing, petting,
or viewing erotic images that lead to sexual arousal. It is characterized by an
erection in males and a swelling of the clitoris and vaginal lubrication in
females.
2. Plateau Phase – it is the period of sexual excitement before orgasm. The
Plateau Phase is the second phase of the sexual cycle, after the excitement
phase with the following manifestations such: further increases in circulation
and heart rate occur in both sexes, sexual pleasure increases with increased
stimulation, muscle tension increases further, for those who never achieve
orgasm; this is the peak of sexual excitement. Both men and women may also
begin to vocalize involuntarily at this stage.
Prolonged time in the plateau phase without progression to the orgasmic phase
may result in frustration if continued for too long.

3. Orgasmic Phase – orgasm is the conclusion of the plateau phase of the sexual
response cycle and is experienced by both males and females. It is
accompanied by quick cycles of muscle contraction in the lower pelvic muscles,
which surround both the anus and the primary sexual organs; women also
experience uterine and vaginal contractions; orgasms are often associated with
other voluntary actions, including vocalizations and muscular spasms in other
areas of the body, and a generally euphoric sensation; in men, orgasm is
usually associated with ejaculation.

Orgasms in females may also play a significant role in fertilization. The


muscular spasms are theorized to aid in the locomotion of sperm up the vaginal
walls into the uterus.

4. Resolution Phase (Refractory Period) – the resolution phase occurs after


orgasm and allows the muscles to relax, blood pressure to drop and the body
to slow down from its excited state.

Types of Sexual Dysfunction

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A. Dysfunction of Sexual Desire (occurs during the Excitement Phase)
1. Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder – it is marked by the lack or no
sexual drive or interest in sexual activity. It is characterized by a persistent,
upsetting loss of sexual desire.
2. Sexual Aversion Disorder – it is characterized by a desire to avoid
genital contact with a sexual partner. It refers to persistent feelings of fear,
anxiety, or disgust about engaging in sex.
B. Dysfunctions of Sexual Arousal (occurs during Arousal/Plateau Phase):
1. Male Erectile Disorder –refers to the inability to maintain or achieve an
erection (previously called impotence).
2. Female Sexual Arousal Disorder – it refers to none responsiveness to
erotic stimulation both physically and emotionally (previously called
frigidity).
C. Dysfunction of Orgasm (occurs during the Orgasmic Phase):
1. Premature Ejaculation – it is the unsatisfactory brief period between the
beginning of sexual stimulation and the occurrence of ejaculation.
2. Male Orgasmic Disorder – it refers to the inability to ejaculate during
sexual intercourse.
3. Female Orgasmic Disorder – it refers to the difficulty in achieving orgasm,
either manually or during sexual intercourse.
D. Sexual Pain Disorders:
1. Vaginismus – it is the involuntary muscle spasm at the entrance to the
vagina that prevents penetration and sexual intercourse.
2. Dyspareunia –refers to painful coitus that may have either an organic or
psychological basis.

E. Hyper Sexuality:
1. Nymphomania (or furor uterinus) – a female psychological disorder
characterized by an overactive libido and an obsession with sex (the
etymology of the word is nymph).
2. Satyriasis – in males disorder is called satyriasis and the etymology is
satyr.

Category II. Paraphilias

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Paraphilias (in greek ‘para’ = over and ‘philia’ = friendship) is a rare mental
health disorder term recently used to indicate sexual arousal in response to sexual
objects or situations that are not part of societal normative arousal/activity patterns, or
which may interfere with the capacity for reciprocal affectionate sexual activity.

Common forms of paraphilia are:


a. Exhibitionism – this is known as flashing, is behavior by a person that involves
the exposure of private parts of his/her body to another person in a situation
when they would not normally be exposed.

Types of Exposure
1. Flashing – it is the display of bare breasts and/or buttocks by a woman with an
up-and-down lifting of the shirt and/or bra or a person exposing and/or stroking
his or her genitals.
2. Mooning – refers to a display of the bare buttocks while bending down by the
pulling-down of trousers and underwear. This act is more often done for the
sake of humor and/or mockery than sexual excitement.
3. Anasyrma – lifting of the skirt when not wearing underwear, to expose genitals.
4. Martymachlia – is a paraphilia that involves sexual attraction to having others
watch the execution of a sexual act.
b. Fetishism – people with a fetish experience sexual urges and behavior which
are associated with non-living objects. For example, the object of the fetish
could be an article of female clothing, like female underwear.

Types of Fetishism
1. Sexual Transvestic Fetishism (Transvestism) – like most paraphilias,
transvestic fetishism begins in adolescence, usually around the onset of
puberty. Most practitioners are male who is aroused by wearing, fondling, or
seeing female clothing. Lingerie (bras, panties, girdles, corsets, and slips),
stockings, shoes or boots may all be fetishistic objects.
2. Foot Fetishism – it is a pronounced fetishistic sexual interest in human feet. It
is also one of the most common fetishistic interests among humans. A foot
fetishist can be sexually aroused by viewing, handling, licking, tickling, sniffing,
or kissing the feet and toes of another person, or by having another person
doing the same to his/her own feet.
3. Tickling Fetishism – a sexual fetish related to gaining a specific sexual thrill
from either tickling a sex partner or being subjected to tickling themselves,

36 | P a g e
usually to the point of helpless laughter. Often this involves some form of
restraint to prevent escape and/or accidentally hurting the tickler.
4. Wet and Messy Fetish (WAM) – a form of sexual fetishism that has a person
getting aroused by substances applied on the body like mud, shaving foam,
custard pudding, chocolate sauce, etc. it

Four (4) Categories of WAM

4.1 Messy – the applying of largely opaque substances not usually used in this
fashion. This includes food, shaving cream, and mud.
4.2 Wet – the major varieties are of images of people in completely soaked
clothing, usually involving full clothing ensembles.
4.3 Quicksand – images of people sinking in quicksand. Indrawn images, the stage
where female characters sink up to their chests and their breasts are up in
response is a favorite.
4.4 Underwater – also called Aquaphilia. It involves images of people swimming
or posing underwater.

5. Pygmalionism –is a sexual deviation whereby a person has a sexual desire for
statues.
6. Incendiarism –is a sexual deviation whereby a person derives sexual pleasure
from setting the fire.

c. Frotteurism (Frontage) – frotteurism is the act of obtaining sexual arousal and


gratification by rubbing one’s genitals against others in public places or crowds
or sexual urges are related to the touching or rubbing of their body against a
non-consenting, unfamiliar woman.
d. Pedophilia – is used to refer to child sexual abuse which comes from the Greek
word (paidophilia) (pais), “child” and (philia), “friendship”. It is also called
“pedophilic behavior”.
e. Masochism – sexual masochism involves acts in which a person derives sexual
excitement from being humiliated, beaten, bound, or otherwise abused.
f. Sadism – is the act of attaining sexual pleasure or gratification by the infliction
of pain and suffering upon another person.
g. Voyeurism (peeping tom) – voyeurism came from the French voyeur meaning,
“One who looks”. This is the act of reaching sexual pleasure or gratification by

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watching or observing the subject from a distance, or by stealth to observe the
subject with the use of peep-holes, two-way minors, hidden cameras, secret
photography, and other devices and strategies.
h. Scatologia – it is also called Coprolalia, deviant sexual practice is obtained
through the compulsive use of obscene language. The affected person
commonly satisfies his desires through obscene telephone calls (Telephone
Scatologia), usually to strangers. Related terms are copropraxia, performing
obscene or forbidden gestures, and coprographia, making obscene writings or
drawings.
i. Necrophilia – is also called thanatophilia and necrolagnia, is the sexual
attraction to corpses.
j. Coprophilia – also called scatophilia or scat, is the paraphilia involving sexual
pleasure from feces.
k. Zoophilia – is the practice of sex between humans and animals (also known as
bestiality/bestosexual). A person who practices zoophilia is known as a
zoophile.
l. Urophilia (Urolagnia) – a paraphilia of the fetishistic/talismanic type in which
sexuoerotic arousal and facilitation or attainment of orgasm is responsive to,
and being urinated upon and/or swallowing urine.
m. Gerontophilia (Sexual preference for the elderly) – Gerontophilia describes a
specific sexual inclination towards the elderly and may at times explain the
sadistic attacks made upon them.
n. Mysophilia – is obtaining sexual arousal and gratification by filth or a filthy
surrounding. Put simply, this is getting horny from smelling, chewing, or rubbing
against dirty underwear.
o. Hypoxyphilia – is the desire to achieve an altered state of consciousness as an
enhancement to the experience of orgasm.

Category III. Gender Identity Disorder (Transsexualism)

Gender identity disorder exists when a person experiences confusion,


vagueness, or conflict in his/her feelings about his/her own sexual identity. It is a
condition in which the individual feels trapped in a body of the wrong sex. A person
who is anatomically male feels that he is a woman who somehow was given the wrong
body is an example of this (Lahey, 2001).

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Category of Sexual Abnormalities
A. Sexual Abnormalities as to the Choice of Sexual Partner:
1. Heterosexual – this refers to a sexual desire towards the opposite sex. This is
normal sexual behavior, socially and medically acceptable.
2. Homosexual – this refers to a relationship or having a sexual desire towards
member(s) of his/her gender. The term homosexual can be applied to either a
man or woman, but female homosexuals are usually called lesbians.
3. Infantosexual – this refers to a sexual desire towards an immature person
such as pedophilia.
4. Bestosexual – this refers to sexual gratification towards animals. This is similar
to bestiality and zoophilia.
5. Autosexual (Self Gratification or Masturbation) – it is a form of “self-abuse” or
“solitary vice” carried without the cooperation of another person or the induction
of a state of erection of the genital organs and the achievement of orgasm by
manual or mechanical stimulation.

Types of Masturbation
5.1 Conscious Type – the person deliberately resorts to some mechanical
means of producing sexual excitement with or without orgasm.
a. In Male:
a.1. By manual manipulation to the point of emission.
a.2. Ejaculation is produced by rubbing his sex organ against some part of
the female body without the use of the hand (frottage).
b. In Female:
b.1. Manual manipulation of the clitoris.
b.2. Introduction of penis-substitute.

5.2 Unconscious Type – The release of sexual tension may come about via
the mechanism of
nocturnal stimulation with or without emission, which may also be as
“masturbation equivalent”.

6. Gerontophilia – This refers to a sexual desire with the elder person.


7. Necrophilia – This refers to a sexual perversion characterized by erotic desire
or actual sexual intercourse with a corpse.
8. Incest – This refers to sexual relations between persons who, because of blood
relationship cannot legally marry.

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B. Sexual Abnormalities as to Instinctual Strength of Sexual Urge:
1. Over Sex:
a. Satyriasis – This refers to an excessive sexual desire of men to
intercourse.
b. Nymphomania – This refers to the strong sexual feeling of women. They
are commonly called “hot” or “fighters”.
2. Under Sex:
a. Sexual Anesthesia – This refers to the absence of sexual desire or arousal
during sexual activity in women.
b. Dyspareunia – It refers to the painful sexual activity in women.
c. Vaginismus – It refers to the painful spasm of the vagina during a sexual
act.

C. Sexual Abnormalities as to Mode of Sexual Expression or Way of Sexual


Satisfaction:
1. Oralism – This refers to the use of the mouth as a way of sexual gratification.
This includes any of the following:
a. Fellatio (Irrumation) – The female agent receives the penis of a man into
her mouth and by friction with the lips and tongue coupled with the act
sucking the sexual organ.
b. Cunnilingus – Sexual gratification is attained by licking or sucking the
external female genitalia.
c. Anilism (Anilingus) – It is a form of sexual perversion wherein a person
derives excitement by licking the anus of another person of either sex.
2. Sado-masochism (Algolagnia) – This refers to a painful or cruel act as a
factor of gratification. An example of this is flagellation, it is asexual deviation
associated specifically with the act of whipping or being whipped.
a. Sadism (Active Algolagnia) – This refers to a form of sexual perversion
in which the infliction of pain on another is necessary or sometimes the sole
factor in sexual enjoyment.
b. Masochism (Passive Algolagnia) – This refers to the attainment of pain
and humiliation from the opposite sex as the primary factor for sexual
gratification.
3. Fetishism – It is a form of sexual perversion wherein the real or fantasized
presence of an object or bodily part is necessary for sexual stimulation and/or
gratification.

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D. Sexual Abnormalities as to the Part of the Body:
1. Sodomy – This refers to a sexual act through the anus of another human being.
2. Uranism – This refers to the attainment of sexual gratification by fingering,
fondling with the breast licking parts of the body, etc.
3. Frottage (Frotteurism) – It is a form of sexual gratification characterized by
the compulsive desire of a person to rub his sex organ against some parts of
the body of another.
4. Partialism – It is a form of sexual deviation wherein a person has a special
affinity to certain parts of the female body. Sexual libido may develop in the
breast, buttock, foot, legs, etc. of women.

E. Sexual Abnormalities as to Visual Stimulus:


1. Voyeurism – It is a form of sexual perversion characterized by a compulsion
to peep to see persons undress or perform other personal activities. The
offender is sometimes called “Peeping Tom”. Usually, after peeping, the person
masturbates in excess.
2. Mixoscopia (Scoptophilia) –refers to a perversion wherein sexual pleasure is
attained by watching a couple of undress or during their sex intimacies.

F. Sexual Abnormalities as to Number of Sex Partners:


1. Triolism (from a French word, trios which means three) – It is a form of sexual
perversion in which three persons are participating in the sexual orgies. The
combination may consist of two men and a woman or two women and a man.
Troilist (a person) becomes aroused and gratified by the “sharing”.
2. Pluralism – It is a form of sexual deviation in which a group of people
participates in sexual orgies. Two or more couples may perform a sexual act in
a room and they may even agree to exchange partners for “variety sake” during
“sexual festival”.

G. Sexual Abnormalities as to Sexual Reversal:


1. Transvestism – It is a form of deviation wherein a male individual derives
pleasure from wearing female apparel. This condition is found sometimes in
females who desire to dress in male attire. A female transvestite may imagine
that she possesses a penis.

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2. Transsexualism – The dominant desire in some people to identify themselves
with the opposite sex as completely as possible to discard forever their
anatomical sex refers to Transsexualism.
3. Intersexuality – It is a genetic defect wherein an individual shows
intermingling, in varying degrees, of the characteristics of both sexes including
physical form, reproductive organs, and sexual behavior.
Classification of Intersexuality:
a. Gonadal Agenesis- The sex organs (testes or ovaries) have never
developed.
b. Gonadal Dysgenesis – The external sexual structures are present but at
puberty, the testes or the ovaries fail to develop.
c. True Hermaphroditism- A state of bisexuality, having both ovaries and
testicles. The nuclear sex is usually female. The character may be neutral
or whichever is dominant.
d. Psedohermaphrodite – The sex organ is automatic of one sex but the sex
character is that of the opposite sex.

Segment 7. Somatoform Disorders


Somatoform Disorder is a mental disorder characterized by physical
symptoms that mimic physical disease or injury for which there is no identifiable
physical cause. Patients with this disorder often become very worried about their health
because the doctors are unable to find a cause for their health problems.

Six (6) Major Types of Somatoform Disorder


1. Conversion Disorder (Hysteria) – This is a condition where a patient displays
neurological symptoms such as numbness, paralysis, or fits, even though no
neurological explanation is found and it is determined that the symptoms are
due to the patient’s psychological response to stress.
Symptoms are grouped as follows:
a. Sensory Symptoms – These include anesthesia, excessive sensitivity to
strong stimulation (hyper anesthesia), loss of sense of pain (analgesia), and
unusual symptoms such as tingling or crawling sensations.
b. Motor Symptoms – In motor symptoms, any of the body’s muscle groups may
be involved: arms, legs, vocal cords. Included are tremors, tics (involuntary
twitches), and disorganized mobility or paralysis.
c. Visceral Symptoms – Examples include trouble swallowing, frequent
belching, spells of coughing or vomiting, all carried to an uncommon extreme.

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2. Hypochondriasis – it is a somatoform disorder in which persons are
preoccupied with their health and are convinced that they have some serious
disorder despite reassurance from doctors to the contrary.
3. Somatization Disorder – Also Briquet’s disorder or, in antiquity, hysteria is
a psychiatric diagnosis applied to patients who chronically and persistently
complain of varied physical symptoms that have no identifiable physical origin.
4. Pain Disorder – It is when patient experiences chronic pain in one or more
areas, and is thought to be caused by psychological stress.
5. Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) – It is previously known as
Dysmorphophobia and is sometimes referred to as body dysmorphia or
dysmorphic syndrome. It is a (pshycological) somatoform disorder in which
the affected person is excessively concerned about and preoccupied with a
perceived defect in his or her physical features (body image).
6. Undifferentiated Somatoform Disorder – Only one unexplained symptom is
required for at least 6 months. Included among these disorders are false
pregnancy, psychogenic urinary retention, and mass psychogenic illness (so-
called mass hysteria) (Spoor, 1999).

Segment 8. Dissociative Disorders


Dissociative disorders are disorders in which, under stress, one loses the
integration of consciousness, identity, and memories of important personal events.
These include four recognized varieties:
1. Psychogenic Amnesia – It is also known as Dissociative Amnesia is the
temporary or permanent loss of a part or all of the memory. When this is due
to extreme psychosocial stress, it is labeled psychogenic amnesia.

Four Sub-categories of psychogenic Amnesia


a. Localized Amnesia – This is most often an outcome of a particular event. The
disease renders the afflicted unable to recall the details of a usually traumatic
event, such as violent incestuous rape. This is undoubtedly the most common
type of amnesia.
b. Selective Amnesia – As its name implies, this is similar to localized amnesia
except that the memory retained is very selective.
c & d. Generalized and Continuous Amnesia – These less common forms of
amnesia exist when a person either forgets the details of his/her entire lifetime or
as in the case of continuous amnesia, he/she can’t recall the details before a
certain point in time, including the present.

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2. Psychogenic Fugue – It is also known as Dissociative Fugue. Psychogenic
fugue is simply the addition to generalized amnesia of a flight from family,
problem, or location. In highly uncommon cases, the person may create an
entirely new life (fugue means “flight”).

3. Multiple Personality Disorder – It is also known as Dissociative Identity


Disorder. It is defined as the occurrence of two or more personalities within
the same individual, each of which during some time in the person’s life can
take control. This is not often a mentally healthy thing when the personalities
vie for control.
4. Depersonalization Disorder – This is the continued presence of feelings that
the person is not himself/herself or that he/she can’t control his/her actions.
This is labeled as a disorder when it is recurrent and impairs social and
occupational function (Santrock, 2000 & King, 2008).

REFERENCES:
1. Human Behavior and Crisis Management, Eduardo, J.P.,
Panganoron,C.R.,2015

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VICTIMOLOGY
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF VICTIMOLOGY AND THEORIES OF
VICTIMIZATION

CHAPTER 4

INTRODUCTION

Victimology as a field of study is a recently developed subdiscipline of


criminology. Victimology focuses equally broadly on crimes and their victims.

Victimologists focus on the range of victim-related issues, including the extent


of different types of victimization, explaining why victimization occurs to whom or
what, the effects and consequences of victimization, and examing victims’ rights
within the legal system.

OBJECTIVES

After completing the course, the students are expected to:

1. Trace the historical background of victimology.


2. Discuss the basic definitions relative to the study of the course.
3. Understand the different theories of victimization.
4. Recognize the role of the victim in the criminal process.
5. Compare and evaluate the theories of victimization.

LESSON PROPER

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF VICTIMOLOGY

Historically, the Latin term “victima” was used to describe individuals or


animals whose lives were destined to be sacrificed to please a deity. It did not
necessarily imply pain or suffering, only a sacrificial role. “Victimology” arose in
Europe after World War II, primarily to seek to understand the criminal-victim
relationship. Early victimology theory posited that victim attitudes and conduct are
among the causes of criminal behavior.

In the nineteenth century, the world victim became connected with the notion
of harm or loss in general (Spalek 2006). In the modern criminal justice system, the

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world victim has come to describe any person who has experienced injury, loss, or
hardship due to the illegal action of another individual, group, or organization
(Karmen 2004).

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), between the 1970s


and 1980s, just after the civil rights movement, there was increased awareness about
victims. In 1972, the FBI formed the Behavioral Science Unit (BSU) to study the
relationship between the offenders, the victims, and group dynamics in society.
Police officers would gather at the FBI headquarters in Quantico, Virginia for pieces
of training.

During these pieces of training, the police officers began to realize they were
seeing different patterns between victims and offenders. The BSU studied these
patterns and relationships between victims and offenders. Along with the BSU,
several independent victim support organizations, such as Mothers against Drunk
Divers (MADD) and Parents of Murdered Children (POMC), formed to study different
crimes that had happened to their loved ones. These groups worked together to help
to better define the relationships between victims and offenders that are used in
current theories of victimology.

What is Victimology?

Victimology is the study of the relationship between the victim and the
perpetrator. Likewise, it is the “Scientific study of physical, emotional, and financial
harm people suffer because of illegal activities. It is the study of the victim, including
the offender and society. Furthermore, it is a social-structural way of viewing crime
and the law and the criminal and the victim.

Victimology is the study of victimization, including the relationships between


victims and offenders, the interactions between victims and the criminal justice
system- that is, the police and courts, and corrections officials – and the connections
between victims and other social groups and institutions, such as the media,
business, and social movements. Victimology is, however, not restricted to the study
of victims of crime alone but may include other forms of human rights violation.

To understand this concept, first, we must understand what the terms victim
and perpetrator mean. A victim is a person who has been harmed by a perpetrator. A
victim is a person who suffers direct or threatened physical, emotional, or financial
harm as a result of an act by someone else, which is a crime. A victim of misplaced

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confidence; a victim of a swindler; and a victim of an optical illusion; a person or animal
sacrificed or regarded as sacrificed: war victims living creature sacrificed in religious
rites. A living being sacrificed to a deity or in the performance of a religious rite.

A victim is a person who has been hurt or taken advantage of, which most of
us try to avoid. The perpetrator, also as the offender, is an individual who has
committed the crime against the victim. Additionally, he is an aggressor, assailant,
criminal, evildoer, felon, lawbreaker, malefactor malfeasant, one implicated in the
commission of a crime, one who breaks the law, one who commits a crime, pecans,
sinner, transgressor, violator, wrongdoer. Law enforcement agencies use the study of
victimology and the theories of victimology to determine why the victim was targeted
by the offender.

Subsequently, some general facts have been gathered about victimization.

• Victimization is more likely at night (6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.). Personal larceny
is more common during the day, with more serious crime occurring at night.
• Crime occurs more in open public areas, although rapes and simple assaults
tend to occur in homes.
• Crime is most frequent in central city areas.
• Western urban areas have the highest crime rates, while the Northeast rural
areas have the lowest.
• Personal theft is very common.
• Men are twice as likely as women to be victims of robbery and assault.
• Victim risk diminishes rapidly after age 25. Contrary to popular belief,
grandparents are safer than their grandchildren.
• Unmarried /never married people are more likely to be victims than married or
widowed.
• The poor are more likely to be victims of crime. They are far more likely to be
victims of violent crime, while the middle class is more likely to be victims of
property crime.
• In some studies, over half of offenders report being under the influence of
alcohol and/or other drugs when they committed the offense resulting in
incarceration.

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Theories of Victimization

This topic presents the different theories of victimization. Victimization is the


outcome of deliberate action taken by a person or institution to exploit, oppress, or
harm another, or destroy or illegally obtain another’s property or possessions. The
Latin word victima means “sacrificial animal”, but the term victim has evolved to include
a variety of targets, including oneself, another individual, a household, a business, the
state, or the environment. The act committed by the offender is usually a violation of a
criminal or civil statute but does not necessarily have to violate a law. Harm can include
psychological /emotional damage, physical or sexual injury, or economic loss.

The noun “victimization” in this report has two meanings, “an act that exploits
or victimizes someone” and “adversity resulting from being made a
victim”(Victimization, N.d). As a method of countering the problem of crime, and of
dealing with the numerous victims left in their wake, criminologists turn to the study of
victims and their relationship to the criminal act. While caring and understanding the
pain and anguish of the victim and their circle of social influence is essential, as is
providing treatment and counseling; criminologists now view the role of the victim in
the criminal process as imperative to understanding the crime itself. Studying and
researching victimology helps in gaining a better understanding of the victim, as well
as the criminal, and how the crime may have been precipitated.

For the purpose of understanding and researching victimology,


four theories have been developed:

victim precipitation theory,


the lifestyle theory,
deviant place theory,
and the routine activities theory.

1. The Victim Precipitation Theory

The victim precipitation theory views victimology from the standpoint that the
victims

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themselves may initiate, either passively or actively, the criminal act that ultimately
leads to injury or death. During passive precipitation, the victim unconsciously exhibits
behaviors or characteristics that instigate or encourage the attack. Siegel (2006) lists
job promotions, job status, successes, love interests, and the like as examples of these
unconscious behaviors and characteristics. Additionally, political activists, minority
groups, those of different sexual orientations, and other individuals pursuing alternate
lifestyles may also find themselves as targets of violence due to the inadvertent threat
they pose to certain individuals of power.
Essentially, the victim precipitation theory focuses on the idea that passive
precipitation of violence is a result of a power struggle. A politician may feel threatened
by an activist group leader because his action draws attention to negative aspects of
his personality and actions that will, or may cause, a loss of power in society.
Active precipitation, on the other hand, is the opposite of the afore-described.
Victimization under this theory occurs through the threatening or provocative actions
of the victim. One of the most controversial points of this theory is the idea that women
who are raped actively contributed in some way, either through provocative dress, a
relationship, or suggested consent of intimacy (Siegel, 2006).

Examples of Victim Precipitation

Active Precipitation
• A woman kills her husband due to a prolonged history of regular domestic
violence.
• Constant derogation and humiliation of an employee, in public, by the
employer, causes the employee to lash out and physically harm the employer.

Passive Precipitation
• The horrifying practice of lynching (hate crime), due to racism.
• One employee is passed over for a promotion that is offered to his/her
colleague (victim). This motivates him to physically harm or spread rumors
about the victim.
• Two men competing for the love of the same woman may indulge in
antagonistic acts towards each other.

In general, according to studies on victimology, victim-precipitated crimes are


largely those crimes that

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involve acts of terrorism, hate crimes, racial hatred, physical and sexual assaults, etc.
these tend to be spontaneous and crimes of passion. Very rarely are these crimes
premeditated. Analysis of various victim-precipitated crimes suggests that males are
more likely to be victimized by friends and known acquaintances.

2. The Lifestyle Theory

This theory supports that individuals are targeted based on their lifestyle
choices and that these lifestyle choices expose them to criminal offenders and
situations in which crimes may be committed. Examples of some lifestyle choices
indicated by this theory include going out at night alone, living in “bad” parts of town,
associating with known felons, being promiscuous, excessive alcohol use, and doing
drugs.
Lifestyle theory in criminal justice focuses on crime victims rather than
perpetrators. For perpetrators, there is the closely related “routine activities” theory,
which stresses the lack of people and social structures that deter criminal activities.
The main issue is that crime victims often become victims because of their own choices
as to where to live, how to socialize, and other lifestyle-related variables.

Features

• According to lifestyle theory, people become victims of crime because they do


not exercise intelligent or rational choices when putting themselves in social
situations. In general, such social situations refer to the peer group, friend’s
social world, and environment. While this theory places much of the onus of
the crime on the victims and their lack of care, other theories, such as the
conflict theory.

Function

• Lifestyle theory places the reality of victimization in the choices of the person.
As a result, this falls under the category of a “rational choice” theory. This
means that crime, whether in its commission or victimization, is based on the
choices of both groups. People put themselves in harm’s way when they mix
with the wrong people and in the wrong situations.

Benefits

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• Lifestyle theory holds that if a person changes his life choices, he will become
less likely to be victimized. For example, a person can change friends, move to
a rural area and stop going to bars. This, according to this approach, will lessen
the chances of the person’s becoming a victim.

Effects

• While stressing choice, this approach also stresses social life. Social life, this
theory implies, is itself a set of choices. Crime is then based on victims who
deliberately put themselves in harm’s way by identifying with those people or
situations prone to crime. If one, for example, decides to go to bars regularly,
this means that the home is often empty, and the car is in places where
intoxicated people gather. This is an invitation to crime.

Considerations

• While lifestyle theory deals with the victim, ‘routine activities” theory deals with
criminals. These two theories are nearly identical, with the only difference being
the points of view. Routine-activities theory holds that for a crime to be
committed, three things need to be present. The first two are easy: a suitable
target and criminal motivation. It is the third that matters: lack of deterrence.
This lack of deterrence can be as simple as a lack of policemen in the area.
But more significantly, it refers to a lack of a social structure that would deter
crime. “Routine activities” hold that a social structure, such as a thriving
economy, strong families, close-knit neighborhoods, and strong religious
values, all work together to deter most crime. Without these structures,
criminality will flourish.

3. Deviant Place Theory

The deviant place theory states that greater exposure to dangerous places
makes an individual more likely to become the victim of a crime (Seigel, 2006). The
victims do not influence the crime by actively or passively encouraging it, but rather
are victimized as a result of being in “bad” areas. To lower the chance that one will
become the victim of a crime, the individual should avoid the “bad” areas of town where

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crime rates are high. For example, Tondo, Divisoria, or Quiapo in Metro Manila are
notorious for their gangs, and high crime rate.
Deviance is any behavior that violates social norms and is usually of sufficient
severity to warrant disapproval from the majority of society. Deviance can be criminal
or non-criminal. Today, Americans consider such activities as alcoholism, excessive
gambling, being nude in public places, playing with fire, stealing, lying, refusing to
bathe, purchasing the services of prostitutes, and cross-dressing- to name only a few-
as deviant. People who engage in deviant behavior are referred to as deviants.
The concept of deviance is complex because norms vary considerably across
groups, times, and places. In other words, what one group may consider acceptable,
another may consider deviant. For example, in some parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, and
Muslim Africa, women are circumcised.

Several theories related to deviance and criminology have emerged within the
past 50 years or so. Four of the most well-known theories follow.

a. Differential-association theory

Edwin Sutherland coined the phrase differential association to address the


issue of how people learn
deviance. According to this theory, the environment plays a major role in deciding
which norms people learn to violate. People also learn their norms from various
socializing agents- parents, teachers, ministers, family, friends, co-workers, and the
media. In short, people learn criminal behavior, like other behaviors, from their
interactions with others, especially in intimate groups.
The differential association theory has contributed to the field of criminology in
its focus on the developmental nature of criminality. People learn deviance from the
people with whom they associate. Critics of the differential association theory, on the
other hand, claim the vagueness of the theory’s terminology does not lend itself to
social science research methods or empirical validation.

b. Anomie theory

Anomie refers to the confusion that arises when social norms conflict or do not
even exist. Merton stressed, for instance, that attaining wealth is a major goal of
Americans, but not all Americans possess the means to do this, especially members
of minority and disadvantaged groups. Those who find the “road to riches” closed to

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them experience anomie, because an obstacle has thwarted their pursuit of a socially
approved goal. When this happens, these individuals may employ deviant behaviors
to attain their goals, retaliate against society, or merely “make a point”.
The primary contribution of anomie theory is its ability to explain many forms of
deviance. The theory is also sociological in its emphasis on the role of social forces in
creating deviance. On the negative side, the anomie theory has been criticized for its
generality.
c. Control theory

According to Walter Reckless’s control theory, both inner and outer controls
work against deviant
tendencies. People may want- at least some of the time- to act in deviant ways, but
most do not. They have various restraints: internal controls, such as conscience,
values, integrity, morality, and the desire to be a “good person”; and outer controls,
such as police, family, friends, and religious authorities. Travis Hirschi noted that
these inner and outer restraints form a person’s self-control, which prevents acting
against social norms. The key to developing self-control is proper socialization,
especially early in childhood. Children who lack this self-control, then, may grow up to
commit crimes and other deviant behaviors.

d. Labeling theory

A type of symbolic interaction, labeling theory concerns the meanings people


derive from one another’s
labels, symbols, actions, and reactions. This theory holds that behaviors are deviant
only when society labels them as deviant. Powerful individuals within society-
politicians, judges, police officers, medical doctors, and so forth-typically impose the
most significant labels. Labeled persons may include drug addicts, alcoholics,
criminals, delinquents, prostitutes, sex offenders, retarded people, and psychiatric
patients, to mention a few. The consequences of being labeled as deviant can be far-
reaching. Social research indicates that those who have negative labels usually have
lower self-images, are more likely to reject themselves, and may even act more
defiantly as a result of the label. Unfortunately, people who accept the labeling of
others –be it correct or incorrect-have a difficult time changing their opinions of the
labeled person, even in light of evidence to the contrary.

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Social Strain Typology

Strain theory states that social structures within society may pressure citizens
to commit a crime. Merton proposed a typology of deviant behavior, a classification
scheme designed to facilitate understanding. Merton typology of deviance was based
on two criteria: (1) a person’s motivations or adherence to cultural goals; (2) a person’s
belief in how to attain her goals. According to Merton, there are five types of deviance
based upon these criteria: conformity, innovation, ritualism, retreatism, and rebellion.

Theories derived from Strain Theory

1. General Strain Theory


Main article: General Strain Theory

General Strain Theory (GST) is a sociology and criminology theory developed


in 1992 by Robert
Agnew. The core idea of general strain theory is that people who experience strain or
stress become distressed or upset which may lead them to commit the crime to cope.
One of the key principles of this theory is emotion as the motivator for the crime.
Examples of General Strain Theory are people who use illegal drugs to make
themselves feel better, or a student assaulting his peers to end the harassment they
cause.

GST introduces 3 main sources of strain such as:

1. Loss of positive stimuli (death of family or friend)


2. Presentation of negative stimuli (physical and verbal assaults)
3. The inability to reach the desired goal.

2. Institutional Anomie Theory

Institutional Anomie Theory (IAT) is a criminology theory developed in 1994


by Steven Messner and
Richard Rosenfeld. The theory proposes that an institutional arrangement with a
market, where the market/economy is allowed to operate/dominate without restraints
from other social intuitions like family will likely cause criminal behavior.

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3. Illegitimate Opportunities Theory
Main article: Illegitimate opportunity

Illegitimate opportunities are a sociology theory developed in 1960 by Richard


Cloward and Lloyd Ohlin.
The theory states that crimes result from a high number of illegitimate opportunities
and not from a lack of legitimate ones.

4. Strain Theorists
Robert King Merton was an American sociologist who argued that society can
encourage deviance to a large degree. Merton believed that socially accepted
goals put pressure on people to conform. People are forced to work within the
system or become members of a deviant subculture to achieve the desired
goal.

Strain Source 1: Differential Values


When two conflicting social values or beliefs are competing in an individual’s
daily life, the person experiences value strain. The two conflicting social facts are
competing personal beliefs internalized in the person’s value system. When the two
conflicting values are taken as equally important in a person’s daily life, the person
experiences great strain. When one value is more important than the other, there is
then little or no strain.

Structural Functionalism

The second main sociological explanation of deviance comes from structural


functionalism. This approach argues that deviant behavior plays an active, constructive
role in society. Deviance helps to distinguish between acceptable and unacceptable
behavior. It draws lines and demarcates boundaries. This is an important function that
affirms the cultural values and norms of a society for the members of that society.
The third main sociological theory of deviance is conflict theory. Conflict theory
suggests that deviant behaviors result from social, political, or material inequalities of
a social group. In response to these inequalities, certain groups will act defiantly to
change their circumstances, change the social structure that engendered their
circumstances, or just to “act out” against their oppressors.

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4. Bottom of Form

Routine Activity Theory

Routine Activity Theory is a subfield of crime opportunity theory that focuses


on situations of crimes. It has been developed by Marcus Felson and Lawrence E.
Cohen, The premise of routine activity theory is that crime is relatively unaffected by
social causes such as poverty, inequality, and unemployment.
Lastly, the routine activity theory explains the rate of victimization through a set
of situations that reflect the routines of typical individuals.

1. The availability of suitable targets.


2. The absence of capable guardians, and
3. The presence of motivated offenders.

According to this theory, the presence of one or more of these factors creates
a higher risk of
Victimization. For example, leaving one’s home during vacation creates a suitable
target. Leaving a home for vacation in an urban area creates an even greater risk; and
leaving one’s home on vacation in an urban area in which there is a high number of
teenage boys, known felons, or other “motivated offenders” creates an even higher
risk for victimization. We can also look at practical, everyday examples, such as those
of affluent neighborhoods. These neighborhoods have low crime rates, despite the
availability of goods. This may be attributed to the high guardianship in the form of
security systems, and a lack of motivated offenders.

A Theory of Crime Problems

The crime triangle (also known as the problem analysis triangle) comes straight
out of one of the main theories of environmental criminology- routine activity theory.
“Routine Activity Theory” provides a simple and powerful insight into the cause
of crime problems. At its heart is the idea that in the absence of effective controls,
offenders will prey upon attractive targets. To have a crime, a motivated offender must
come to the same place as an attractive target. For property crimes, the target is a
thing or an object. For personal crimes, a target is a person. If an attractive target is

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never in the same place as a motivated offender, the target will not be taken, damaged,
or assaulted. Also, some controllers are absent or present but powerless, crime is
possible.
First, consider people who are influential in the lives of potential offenders. In
the case of juveniles, these might be parents, close relatives, siblings, peers, teachers,
coaches, and other similarly placed individuals. In the case of adults, these people
may include intimate partners, close friends, relatives, and sometimes their children.
These people are called “handlers” in routine activity theory. Crimes will take place
where handlers are absent, weak, or corrupt.
Next, consider targets or victims. Guardians try to protect targets from theft and
damage and potential victims from attack and assault. Formal guardians include the
police, security guards, and others whose job is to protect people and property from
crime. Informal guardians include neighbors, friends, and others who happen to be in
the same place as the attractive target. Parents, teachers, peers, and others close to
potential victims are also potential guardians. A target with an effective guardian is less
likely to be attacked by a potential offender than a target without a guardian. If the
guardian is absent, weak, or corrupt little protection is provided to the target.
Finally, consider places. Someone owns every location and ownership confers
certain rights to regulate access to the site and behaviors of people using the site. The
owner and the agents of the owner (e.g., employees) look after the place and the
people using the place. Owners and their agents are called place managers. Place
managers control the behavior of offenders and potential victims. Examples of place
managers include merchants, lifeguards, parking lot attendants, recreation and park
workers, janitors, and motel clerks. In the presence of an effective place manager,
crime is less likely than when the manager is absent, weak, or corrupt.
All of the people in this theory use tools to help accomplish their criminal or
crime control objectives. Tools that gang members use may include spraying paint
cans, guns, and cars. Offenders without access to tools are less likely to be able to
escape handlers, enter unauthorized places, and overcome victims, guardians, and
managers. Guardians may use light to increase surveillance, engraving devices to
mark property, and other devices to help reduce the chances of victimization. Place
managers can use gates, fences, signs, and other tools to regulate conduct. With
effective tool handlers, victims, guardians, and managers will have a greater chance
of keeping crimes from occurring. The tools used are often highly specific to the crime
in question. The tools an offender needs for a burglary (e.g., a screwdriver) are likely
to be different from those needed for a robbery (e.g., a gun), for example.

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HANDLER
TOOLS

OFFENDER
MANAGER
TOOLS TOOLS
PROBLEM
TARGET/VICTIM
Guardian
TOOLS
TARGET TOOLS
VICTIM GUARDIAN

Source: Victimology
Danilo L. Tancangco, Ph.D.

REFERENCES:
1. Tancangco, D. L., Victimology, 2018

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VICTIMS CATEGORIES
CHAPTER 5

INTRODUCTION

If the victim’s proneness exists in a criminal case, then it could be asserted that
the victim contributed to his victimization. Victims may be contributory agents to a crime
without warranting the label of victim proneness.
This topic presents the three victim categories, types of victimization, how it
works, what are the early warning signs and coping with the effects of crimes.

OBJECTIVES:

After completing the course, the students are expected to:


1. Discuss the basic definitions relative to the study of the course.
2. Understand the victim's categories.
3. Identify the early warning signs of the types of victimization.
4. Recognize the ways to stop domestic violence in the community.
5. Recognize the coping mechanism for the victims.

LESSON PROPER

VICTIMS CATEGORIES

Freudian psychology involving the death wish, the drive for punishment, or
other subconscious or instinctual motivations, could be alleged to be operating in the
propensity toward victimization. If victim proneness exists in a criminal case, then it
could be asserted that the victims to his victimization. Victims may be contributory
agents to a crime without warranting the label of victim proneness. However, the
victim's contribution may go a step beyond negligence to provocation.

There are 3 victim categories:


1. Primary victims
A primary victim is a person who is injured or dies as a direct result of
an act of violence committed against them as a direct result of:
For example:

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• X was shot in his office.
Special primary victim
A special primary victim is a primary victim of an act of violence who:
For example:
• X was a minor when she was raped.
• Has an implied capacity.

2. Secondary victims
A “secondary victim” is a person who suffers nervous shock without
himself being exposed to danger. An example of this is a spectator at a
car race, who witnesses a terrible crash caused by negligence on the
part of the manufacturers and develops a nervous illness as a result of
his experience. It is in these cases where the courts have been
particularly reluctant to award damages for nervous shock.

Parent secondary victim


A parent secondary victim is a parent who is injured as a result of an
act of violence against their child.

For example:
• ‘I’m a parent and I have suffered an anxiety disorder as a result of
violence against my child.’

Witness secondary victim


A witness secondary victim is a person who is injured as a direct result
of witnessing an act of violence against another person. They may be a witness
to either a more or less serious act of violence.

For example:
• I am walking and I saw W being murdered and now I am scared when
I am alone.

3. Related victim
A related victim is a close family member or dependent of a primary victim
who has died as a direct result of an act of violence against them.

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A close family member of a primary victim must have had a genuine
personal relationship with the primary victim when they died. A close family
member of the primary victim may be a:
• The spouse of the victim;
• A parent, guardian, or step-parent of the victim;
• A brother, sister, step-brother, or step-sister of the victim.

Types of Victimization
Sexual misconduct is an umbrella term that includes any non-consensual
sexual activity that is committed by force or fear or mental physical incapacitation,
including through the use of alcohol range of behavior, including rape, statutory rape
(sexual contact with a person under 18 years old), sexual touching, sexual exploitation,
sexual harassment, and conduct suggestive of attempting to commit any of the
aforementioned acts.
Many victims do not realize how broadly sexual abuse is interpreted. For
example, if you have ever been coerced into not using contraception (the pill, a
condom, an IUD, etc.) or having an abortion, then you may have been sexually abused.
This form of abuse is known as reproductive coercion.

How It Works
• Unwanted kissing to touching
• Unwanted rough or violent sexual activity
• Forcing or manipulating someone to go further sexually than he or she wants
to
• Insisting (physically or verbally) that you have sec, even when you have said
no
• Using coercion, guilt, and manipulation to have sex
• Taking advantage of you while you are intoxicated (drink or high) and not able
to say no
• Forced sex
• Not using or not letting you use birth control for pregnancy and STD
protection(condoms, birth control pills)
Early Warning Signs
• Explosive temper
• Going into a rage when disappointed or frustrated

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• History of violence
• Severe mood swings
• Teasing, tripping, or pushing
• Threatening to injure
• Intimidating physical behavior

Rape – is the sexual penetration (however slight) of the victim’s vagina, mouth,
or rectum without consent. Rape involves penetration with (a) the use of force/fear or
threat of force/fear; or (b) with a person who is otherwise incapable of giving consent,
including situations where the individual is under the influence of alcohol or drugs and
this condition was or should have reasonably been known to the accused. This is
especially true in cases when flirtation may be present, yet there is no consent to
sexual intercourse.
Sexual touching – also known as the sexual battery is the act of making
unwanted and sexually offensive contact (clothed or unclothed) with an intimate body
part of another person or action, which causes immediate apprehension that sexual
touch will occur. Intimate body parts include sexual organs, the anus, the groin,
breasts, or buttocks of any person. Sexual touching includes situations in which the
accused engages in the contacts described with a person who is incapable of giving
consent.
Sexual Exploitation – is taking advantage of a non-consenting person or
situation for personal benefit or gratification or the benefit of anyone other than the
alleged victim; and the behavior does not constitute rape, sexual touching, or sexual
harassment. Sexual exploitation includes, but is not limited to:
• Photographing or making audio or video recordings of sexual activity
without consent;
• Dissemination of images or recordings without consent of the
participant(s);
• Allowing others to observe sexual activity without the knowledge or
consent of the partner;
• Voyeurism (peeping tom);
• Knowingly transmitting a sexually transmitted infection or HIV to
another student;
• Prostituting another person;
• Giving alcohol or other drugs to another student to rent him or she is
incapable of giving consent.

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Sexual harassment – is any unwelcome sexual conduct or behavior that
creates an intimidating,
hostile, or offensive working or educational environment.
When someone calls you insulting sexual names, talks about you in a sexual
way that makes you
feel uncomfortable (like committing on your body), or spreads sexual rumors about
you, this is known as sexual harassment. This could happen in person, over the phone,
or online.

Stalking and Harassment


Stalking can be defined as persistent and unwanted attention that makes you
feel pestered
and harassed. Stalking and harassment include behavior that happens two or more
times, directed at or towards you by another person, which causes you to feel alarmed
or distressed or to fear that violence might be used against you.
Social media and the internet can be used for stalking and harassment and
‘cyberstalking
or online threats can be just as intimidating.
Stalking is prohibited. It is willful, malicious, and repeated following of a person
or harassing
behavior against another person, putting the person in reasonable fear for his or her
personal safety, or the safety of his or her family.

Physical Assault/Battery – Physical Assault or battery is prohibited. It is to


touch or strike a person
against his or her will or to threaten violence against that person. If someone
intentionally grabs or touches you in a sexual way that you don’t like, or you are forced
to kiss someone or do something else sexual against your will, this is classed as sexual
assault. This includes sexual touching of any part of someone’s body, and it makes no
difference whether you are clothed or not.

Dating/Relationship/Domestic Violence – is prohibited. This type of violence


may be emotional, verbal, physical, and/or sexual abuse by an intimate partner, family
members, or parties in a dating relationship.
Human Sex Trafficking
Sex is which a commercial or act is induced by force fraud or coercion, or in
which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or the

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recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or
services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion, for subjection to involuntary
servitude, personage, debt bondage, or slavery.

Types of Domestic Violence


Domestic abuse describes negative behaviors that one person exhibits over
another within families or relationships. These patterns of behavior can include threats,
put-downs, isolation, violence, and control. Sometimes domestic abuse can be called
domestic violence

Physical Abuse – is the most recognizable form of domestic violence. It


involves the use of force against the victim, causing injury (e.g. a punch or a kick,
stabbing, shooting, choking, slapping, forcing, you to use drugs, etc.). Remember that
the injury doesn’t need to be a major one.

Early Warning Signs


• Explosive temper
• Going into a rage when disappointed or frustrated
• Threatening to injure
• Intimidating physical behavior (getting in your face)

Emotional Abuse – is saying or doing something to the other person that


causes the person to be
afraid, have lower self-esteem, or cause psychological or emotional distress.
Manipulating or controlling the person’s feelings or behaviors. Behavior that causes
harm with words or actions. Most commonly, evidence of emotional abuse is combined
with other abuse (physical, financial, sexual, or psychological) to bring a domestic
violence action.

How It Works
• Embarrassing or humiliating you in front of your friends or family
• Threats, intimidation
• Telling the person what to do (how to dress, act, behave)
• Telling a person’s secrets; spreading rumors
• Jealousy, possessiveness
• Isolating a person from friends, family

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• Destroying gifts, clothing, letters

Early Warning Signs


• Teasing that includes insults
• Trying to control what you do
• Not letting you hang out with your friends

Financial Abuse
Of the types of domestic violence, financial abuse is perhaps the least
obvious. Financial
abuse may take on many forms, such as a husband preventing his wife from obtaining
an education or a job outside the home. Financial abuse is extremely common,
particularly when families have pooled their money into joints accounts (with one
partner controlling) and where there is little or no family support system to help.

Cases Involving the Elderly


Elder financial abuse involves someone targeting an older adult, often
a parent or other close relative, in the hope of being allowed access to his or her
financial information. He might act as though he is simply helping manage the senior’s
finances, but instead, he takes the money for himself. This might be in the form of
convincing an elderly person to sign legal financial documents or getting the victim to
change the mailing address on bills and other records.

Martial Manipulation
Financial abuse also can occur in marriages as a means to have control
over a partner to make him feel hopeless enough to never leave. One partner might
not allow the other to have access to any of the household money, or he might give
only a small allowance.

Abuse of Children
Some people choose to financially hurt kids rather than an elderly
individual or spouse. The majority of parents are legally able to handle money issues
for their minor children, so these cases frequently go unreported.

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Between Friends
Sometimes, this type of mistreatment occurs between friends. Here, as
in cases with the elderly, a person preys on the other individual’s fear of loneliness or
need for true help.

Effects
Being financially manipulated, either subtly or conspicuously, can result
in serious monetary instability. Quality of living often suffers as consequences.

Warning Signs
A person might be experiencing financial manipulation if he appears
withdrawn or depressed, or if his physical appearance and hygiene seem to be
suffering. He might not make decisions about money with confidence on his own.

Prevention
One of the simplest ways to prevent financial mistreatment is to stay
involved in a circle of friends or social groups so the network is available for help.
People also can insist on opening their mail and having access to all financial records.
Modern technology reduces risk through options like direct deposits and automatic bill
payments.

Financial Abuse: 6 Signs and what you can do about it

• Leave. Plan your way slowly or swiftly out of this relationship and leave.
• Reach out to trusted friends, relatives, or even a local church who may be able
to house you until you’re able to get on your feet.
• If vocational training or education is a barrier to getting a job then start going to
school online.
• Skim money from whatever is given to you and save little by little.
• Get a job in secret.

Psychological Abuse
Psychological abuse is a catchall term for intimidating, threatening, or fear-
causing behavior. This behavior must be persistent and significant. A one-time event
generally will not be enough to bring a domestic violence action.

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Some common examples include: preventing the victim from talking to people
unless they have been given ‘permission’, preventing the victim from leaving the
house, threatening the victim with violence or emotional blackmail for doing something
the abusive partner doesn’t agree with, etc.

Abuse of Male Privilege:


“It’s a Guy Thing”
Behavior that assumes that boys have more power than girls and that boys
have had special privileges in relationship with girls
How It Works
• The guy makes all decisions for the couple
• The guy excepts his girlfriend to wait on and pamper him
• The guy treats his girlfriend as if she is a property he owns.

Early Warning Signs


• Expecting you to be available to them at all times; while they may only be
available to you when they feel like it.
• Acting overly macho with friend

Digital / online abuse: using technology to further isolate, humiliate or control


someone

Digital partner violence is the use of technologies such as cellphones,


computers, and location technologies to bully, harass, stalk or intimidate a partner.
Often this behavior is a form of verbal or emotional abuse perpetrated online, through
text, calls, etc. It may also include stalking behavior aided by technology.

You may be experiencing digital abuse if your partner:


• Tells you who you can or cannot be friends with, follow, etc. on social
networking site.
• Steals or insists to be given your passwords.
• Shares private texts, pictures, etc. online or sends them to others without
permission.

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Cyber Bullying – is defined as: actions that use information and communication
technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or
group that is intended to harm another.

Examples of what constitutes cyberbullying include: communications (texts, phone


calls, pictures, video, internet posts, instant messages, etc.) that seek to intimidate,
control, manipulate, put down, falsely discredit, or humiliate the recipient. The action
is deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior intended to harm another.

The Effects of Cyber Bullying

Any type of bullying can make you feel hurt, angry, helpless, isolated, even
suicidal, or lead to problems such as depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem. A
cyberbully may be a person whom the target knows or an online stranger. When it
occurs between two adults it may be referred to as “cyber harassment” or digital
harassment as opposed to cyberbullying, which is most often associated with the
children and teen populations.

Your child may be the victim of cyberbullying if he or she:

• Becomes sad, angry, or distressed during or after using the Internet or cell
phone.
• Appears anxious when receiving a text, IM, or email.
• Avoids discussions or is secretive about computer or cell phone activities.
• Withdraws from family, friends, and activities they previously enjoyed.
• Suffers an unexplained drop in grades.
• Refuses to go to school or specific classes, or avoids group activities.
• Shows changes in mood, behavior, sleep, appetite, or shows signs of
depression or anxiety.

Cyber crime – the term cyber crime refers to a variety of crimes carried outline, using
the internet through computers, laptops, tablets, internet-enabled televisions, games
consoles, and smartphones.

Why People Commit Cyber Crime.

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Committing crimes online allows someone to hide their identity and location,
which in some cases is thousands of miles away. Many cyber crimes are committed
by offenders who may be thousands of miles away, which makes it difficult for police
and other law enforcement agencies to bring them to justice.

Coping with the effects of Robbery

Robberies may have very adverse effects on a victim. The direct or implied
violence may cause personal reactions and feelings that a victim is not used to,
regardless of the degree of violence. Victims may personalize the robbery and regard
their reactions as unusual. Stress may occur.
Burglary is one of the most common types of crime. A burglary is when
someone breaks into a building to steal, hurt someone, or committing unlawful
damage.

The emotional Impact of Burglary

Children, in particular, can be very frightened and may need reassurance, even
if they do not talk much about what’s happened. Not all stolen goods are replaceable
and some people may lose items of significant sentimental and personal value- this
can be very upsetting.
The Behavior of Robbers

Most robbers are only interested in obtaining money and not in physically
attacking their victims. They often use threats to frighten; then they complete the
robbery and escape. They usually do not remember the faces or appearances of their
victims.

Common Reactions of Victims

Many of your reactions during a robbery will be automatic. You may not be
conscious of what you are doing.
These reactions are common:

• Fear for one’s safety or the safety of colleagues


• Helplessness about being unable to do anything

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• Confusion about what to do or how to respond to the robber's demand
• Anger at having to surrender money or goods

The Immediate Aftermath

After the robbers have fled, the most immediate reaction is one of relief that:

• The crisis is over


• You survived it
• You were not severely hurt

This may be followed by feelings of:

Anger
• At having to go through a robbery
• At the robbers, because they got away
• At having to give up cash
• At the police for not arriving earlier

Helplessness
• That you could do nothing during the robbery
• That you have been victimized
Guilt
• That you did not behave properly during the robbery
• That you could have prevented it
• That you should have remembered details of the robbery

Frustration
• Because your employer gave you responsibilities after the robbery (counting
the cash)
• Because you had to answer many questions
• Because you could not remember details of the robbery

The End of the Day

It is common to:

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• Feel alone and frightened, especially if you do not live with anyone
• Want to talk about the robbery at great length
• Not want to talk about it at all
• Experience restlessness and sleeplessness
• Wake up suddenly after falling asleep

The Next Few Days


• Apprehension and vulnerability; if it happened once, it can happen again;
• Diminished self-worth. You may be uncertain, irritable, forgetful, and
unsociable

COPING

Victims can do some things which will help to recover from a robbery. You should:

• Refrain from excessive use of alcohol


• Exercise regularly
• Maintain a proper diet
• Rest regularly
• Continue contact with people who provide support
• Be honest with yourself regarding your stress levels and ability to cope

What is antisocial behavior?

If your quality of life is badly affected by other people in your community then you could
be a victim of antisocial behavior. We have experience of supporting people dealing
with:
• Noise nuisance
• Neighbor disputes
• Verbal abuse
• Threatening behavior
• Harassment and intimidation
• Vandalism
• Criminal damage

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A. Examples of noise nuisance can include:
• Loud music or television
• Raised voices
• Animal noise (e.g. barking dogs)
• Noise from pubs or clubs
• Home improvement at unreasonable hours of the study
• Burglar and car alarms
Generally, problems caused by noise pollution include stress-related illnesses, speech
interference, hearing loss, sleep disruption, and lost productivity.

a.1. Noise health effects are the health consequences of regular exposure, to
consistently elevated sound levels. Elevated workplace or environmental noise can
cause hearing impairment, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, annoyance, and
sleep disturbance.

a.2. Hearing are the immediate and acute effect of noise pollution to a person, over
a while, is
Impairment of hearing. Prolonged exposure to impulsive noise to a person will
damage their eardrum, which may result in permanent hearing impairment.

a.3 Effects on general health


Health effects of noise include anxiety and stress reaction and in extreme cases
fright. The physiological Manifestations are headaches, irritability, and nervousness,
feeling of fatigue, and decreases work efficiency.

B. Neighbor disputes

Everyone has neighbors, and where there are neighbors, there can be
problems. Whether it is a barking dog, an untrimmed tree, a cluster of cars in the front
yard, or a loud party, find answers about how to deal with challenging neighbors while
maintaining your sanity and quality of life. Many hate incidents happen near the victim’s
home.

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Hate Crime

Hate crimes are criminal actions intended to harm or intimidate people


because of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, or other minority group
status. They are also referred to as bias crimes.

There are five categories of “identity” when a person is targeted because of


hostility or prejudice towards their:
• disability
• race or ethnicity
• religion or belief (which includes non-belief)
• sexual orientation
• gender identity

1. DISABILITY

Disability means any physical or mental impairment. This includes persons with
physical or learning disabilities. Crimes against people with disabilities are often
classed simply as “abuse” or “neglect” rather than naming them “crimes”.
The relationship of the actors, places, and tools is depicted in the problem triangle,
shown in Figure 1. Problems occur when offenders are at the same places as targets,
without any effective controller. If one or more of the controllers is present, however,
the chances of crime are greatly reduced. The effectiveness of the people involved will
depend, in part on the tools they have available. Adding or subtracting various
elements in this model will alter the chances of crime.

BULLYING

Definition:

Bullying is intentional aggressive behavior. It can take the form of physical or


verbal harassment and involves an imbalance of power (a group of children can gang
up on a victim or someone who is physically bigger or more aggressive can intimidate
someone else, for instance).
Bullying behavior can include teasing, insulting someone (particularly about
their weight or height, race, sexuality, religion, or other personal traits), shoving, hitting,
excluding someone, or gossiping about someone.
Bullying can cause a victim to feel upset, afraid, ashamed, embarrassed, and
anxious about going to school. It can involve children of any age, including younger
elementary grade-schoolers and even kindergarteners. Bullying behavior is frequently
repeated unless there is an intervention.

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A bully is trying to hurt or control others. Bullies have often been bullied . It is
important to know that anybody can be a bully! The target is the person who is being
bullied.

TYPES OF BULLYING

c.1 Physical Bullying - This is any bullying that hurts someone’s body or
damages their possessions.
Stealing, shoving, hitting, fighting, and destroying property all are types of
physical bullying.

c.2 Verbal Bullying - This is any bullying that is done by speaking. Calling names,
spreading rumors,
threatening somebody, and making fun of others are all forms of verbal bullying.

c.3 Social Bullying/Relational Aggression - This is any bully that is done with
the intent to hurt somebody’s
reputation or social standing. Social bullying often happens between friends.

c.4 Cyberbullying - This is any bullying that happens over any technological
device.

c.5 Dating Abuse - Dating abuse is a type of bullying that can take the form of
any type of bullying mentioned
of above within the context of a dating relationship.

Bystanders

• A bystander may or may not be a friend of the target, but he or she is aware
that the bullying is happening.
• Bystanders can be leaders/heroes/role models by doing something helpful or
getting help! Bystanders
can be silent bullies if they do not try to get help.
• A bystander can provide help by reporting the bullying. Reporting is not tattling!
Tattling is trying to get someone into trouble. Reporting is trying to get someone
out of trouble!

2. RACE OF ETHNICITY

The traditional definition of race and ethnicity is related to biological and


sociological factors respectively. A racial group means a group of people who are
defined by reference to their race, color, nationality, or ethnic or national origin. Race
refers to a person’s physical characteristics, such as bone structure and skin, hair, or
eye color. Ethnicity, however, refers to cultural factors, including nationality, regional
culture, ancestry, and language.

3. RELIGION OR BELIEF (which includes non-belief)

Something is a racist or religious hate incident if the victim or anyone else thinks
it was carried out because of hostility or prejudice based on race or religion. Anyone
can be the victim of a racist or religious hate incident.

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4. SEXUAL ORIENTATION

It means the clear, persistent desire of a person for affiliation with one sex
rather than the other. A person’s sexual preference or identity as bisexual,
heterosexual, or homosexual: the state of being bisexual, heterosexual, or homosexual

Lesbian and gay male targets of hate crimes face multiple levels of
victimization. In addition to suffering the effects of being a crime victim, the also face
secondary victimization (i.e., additional victimization after a crime results from societal
heterosexism). Examples of secondary victimization include losing one’s job, being
evicted from housing, or being denied public services or accommodations once one
sexual orientation is disclosed as the result of an anti-gay attack.

5. GENDER IDENTITY

Gender identity refers to “one’s sense of oneself as male, female or


transgender” (American Psychological Association , 2006). When one’s gender identity
and biological sex are not congruent, the individual may identity as transsexual or as
another transgender category (cf. Gainor, 2000).

REFERENCES:
1. Tancangco, D. L., Victimology, 2018

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