Is lifetime abuse forgivable in old age?

Old age is characterized by reflection and a retrospective examination of the multiple meanings of various life experiences, including lifelong abuse. Forgiveness is found to have a salutary effect, especially for older adults. To understand the place and role of forgiveness in the reflective process during aging, we performed a secondary analysis of in-depth, semi-structured interviews (N = 78) with older women survivors of abuse. Inductive thematic analysis was based on concepts developed deductively from the literature review. The findings include three main themes: (1) The dimensions of forgiving: The victim as subject; (2) Being forgiven: Between lost forgiveness and hope; and (3) Self-forgiveness and the aging self. Despite the known salutary effect of forgiveness, we must consider that this is not a universally desirable process. We included the dimension of forgiveness in the study of abuse throughout the older person's life course and identified further complexities in addition to the "forgiveness"/"unforgiveness."

Free will in total institutions: The case of choice inside Nazi death camps.

Nazi death camps, as any total institutions, were designed to deny any free will or choice from inmates. Furthermore, former inmates in such extreme conditions often account for their own actions and behavior in such settings as inevitable ("I had no other choice"). This study examines the questions of free will vs. determinism in death camps from a descriptive-phenomenological perspective. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with 20 former death camp inmates. The following themes emerged from the qualitative analysis of the data: the 'selection' experience; 'borrowed time' perception; and the experience of 'nothingness'. A conceptual model grounded in these data was developed to illustrate the inmate's lived experience of choice in the reality of the camps. Analysis of the model indicates that under the extreme conditions of the death camp, free will and existence are interchangeable: "I choose - therefore I am".

Rethinking Lifetime Abuse in Old Age.

Research on abuse is often piecemeal and focused on specific forms, populations, and social situations. As a result, these studies tend to ignore the web of abuse resulting from the interactive effects of various forms of abuse over the life course, together referred to as "lifetime abuse." An examination of abuse from the point of view of older adults is likely to provide a lifetime perspective based on linking child abuse to elder abuse over the life course and an assessment of its consequences. Despite the growing awareness and resulting body of knowledge regarding this phenomenon, proposed theoretical formulations about it remain limited. The present article aimed to conceptualize the multifaceted phenomenon of lifetime abuse and to gain a deeper perspective of the topic by understanding its dimensions, meanings, and experiences in older age, based on a critical review of empirical studies. A model is suggested, which can be useful for future exploration and understanding of lifetime abuse. Based on a critical review of previous studies, we suggest a theoretical framework of lifetime abuse from the perspective of older adults, identifying three key domains: (a) perception of time and life review in old age; (b) cumulative and interactive abusive life events; and (c) resilience versus vulnerability over the life course. We propose a heuristic model to explore and understand lifetime abuse. We believe our proposed model is open to reflection and elaboration and is intended to raise questions that could enhance the need for our understanding of lifetime abuse in old age.

The social construction of social problems: the case of elder abuse and neglect.

The interaction and inter-penetrability overlap of abuse and neglect has been previously described. Therefore, the question is not whether a distinction can be made between the two, but how specific events are constructed into abuse and/or neglect based on how each of the protagonists involved (researchers, professional workers, family members, and the older persons themselves) make sense of abuse and neglect. The purpose of this paper is to explore the social and psychological construction of elder abuse and neglect and illustrate the theoretical constructs using case material and its application to the field.

Constructing Professional Intervention with IPV Across Generations in a Faith-Based Society: An Intersectional Perspective.

The intersectionality between the social and personal dimensions influencing the construction of intimate partner violence in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community is examined by studying attitudes toward professional intervention among community members coping with IPV. Semi-structured interviews were conducted among 38 information-rich participants coping with IPV, from three generations in the ultra-Orthodox community. Three themes emerged: "Don't think you can do it alone": Professional intervention as a preferred option; "I did everything to hide the situation": The end of the era of shame?;"If it's not his problem, then it's my problem": Professional intervention as a concept of reference. The study findings indicate the ways in which professional intervention among ultra-Orthodox couples coping with IPV is affected and affects the community.

Approaches to and outcomes of dyadic interview analysis.

Qualitative studies on dyads have increased over the last two decades. However, emphasis has been on their thematic content, and very few methodological advances have occurred for conducting this type of research. For instance, literature exists about ways to collect dyadic data, but not how to analyze it. Our aim with this article is to discuss dyadic analysis using data from separate interviews, which is then analyzed on both individual and dyadic levels. We focus on the contrasts and overlaps between the partners' versions as reflected in the text and subtext, and on the descriptive and interpretive levels, based on data from our recent study on second couplehood in old age. We examine how dyadic analysis assists in deriving themes related to the nature of couple relationships, which could otherwise not have been reached.

"Aging out" of violence: the multiple faces of intimate violence over the life span.

In this article, we explore how continuous intimate partner violence is experienced in old age and how age and violence interact and change throughout the life span. This is a qualitative study based on a phenomenological perspective focusing on the lived experiences of the elderly who have dwelled in domestic violence most of their lives. The sample consisted of 40 informants. In-depth, semistructured interviews were performed. Content analysis of the interviews yielded four clusters of living in violence over time: (a) The arena of violence is alive and active, (b) violence is in the air, (c) more of the same but differently, and (d) violence through illness to the very end. These clusters are discussed and their implications for practice are suggested.

Between the professional and the private: the meaning of working with intimate partner violence in social workers' private lives.

This qualitative study examines the impact of working with intimate partner violence on therapists' marital relationships and gender identity. Data were collected by in-depth semistructured interviews with 14 experienced women social workers working in domestic violence treatment centers in Israel. Findings indicate that the boundaries between workers' private and professional lives are blurred and work experiences influence their intimate relationships and gender role identities, leading to overall questioning of their relationships. This newly rediscovered consciousness reshapes the meaning of workers' couple relationships. Such shift between private and professional should be considered when training workers to intervene with intimate partner violence.

Reluctance Versus Urge to Disclose Child Maltreatment: The Impact of Multi-Type Maltreatment.

Child maltreatment is a major public health issue in Israel. According to a recent Israeli national epidemiological survey, approximately half of Jewish and Arab girls and boys between the ages 12 and 17 experienced at least one type of child maltreatment, at any severity level. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence of multi-type maltreatment on Israeli children and youth survivors' reluctance versus urge to disclose; with the effects of gender, age, and ethnicity taken into account. The study is important since non-disclosure has deleterious effects in terms of continuation of the abuse, delays in criminal prosecution and commencement of treatment. A self-report questionnaire incorporating the following instruments was administered: the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, and the Disclosure of Trauma Questionnaire. The sample consisted of 6,253 Jewish and Arab children and youth who reported experiencing at least one lifetime child maltreatment event. Study results indicated that children and youth's reluctance to disclose is positively associated with their emotional reactions to disclosure, as well as with higher instances of child maltreatment exposure; whereas urge to talk is negatively correlated with their emotional reactions to disclosure.

Prevalence of Child Maltreatment in Israel: A National Epidemiological Study.

The current study is based on data collected from Jewish and Arab 6th, 8th and 10th grade students (age range 12-17) within the Israeli national school system (N = 12,035). Data collection for the study utilized two complementary instruments: the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and the Juvenile Victimization Questionnaire (JVQ). Study results revealed that the lifetime prevalence of child maltreatment in contemporary Israeli society is within the range of estimates from other countries. However, contrary to others, Israeli boys reported higher rates of abuse, including sexual abuse, compared to girls. Additionally, Arab compared to Jewish children and youth reported higher rates of all types of abuse. The need for widely accepted, uniform definitions of the various child maltreatment types, a standardized methodology of data collection, and regularly updated national and international data bases is discussed.

Torn: Social Expectations Concerning Forgiveness Among Women Who Have Experienced Intrafamilial Child Sexual Abuse.

The authors examine how women who experienced intrafamilial child sexual abuse (IFCSA) perceive social expectations of society toward forgiveness, how they incorporate IFCSA and reconstruct their life stories in relation to these expectations, and the costs and gains from such reconstructions. This is part of a larger study on the phenomenology of forgiveness for IFCSA among grown women. Twenty Jewish Israeli women who had experienced IFCSA were interviewed in depth. Interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data analyses lead to four types of social expectations: forgiveness by forgetting, avenging, family preservation through forgiveness, and satisfying the voyeuristic needs of society, which has limited interest in forgiveness. These contradictory expectations are discussed in light of the cultural context and the experience of the women interviewed. Implications for practice are suggested.

Adult women survivors of intrafamilial child sexual abuse and their current relationship with the abuser.

This article examines the adult perceptions of women survivors of intrafamilial child sexual abuse and their current relationship with the family member who abused them in their childhood. Twenty Jewish Israeli women were interviewed in depth between 2008 and 2009. Interviews were tape-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Data analysis produced 2 interrelated continua with regard to the presence of the perpetrator in the women's life: a continuum of his actual daily presence in the woman's living space, ranging from complete absence to a continuous presence, and a continuum of his experiential presence, ranging from a high level of intrusiveness to encapsulation and total dissociation. The 2 continua are discussed and implications for practice are suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record

Toxic Knowledge: Self-Alteration Through Child Abuse Work.

The purpose of the present article is to examine the multiple ways in which the private lives of professionals are affected by involvement with child abuse intervention and prevention. Using a descriptive-phenomenological perspective and 40 in-depth interviews with professionals to present a model based on qualitative data, we studied the ways in which child abuse professionals conceptualize, understand, and integrate their experiences into their personal and family lives. We find that the process of internalizing child abuse knowledge occurs in two domains: One affirms or denies the existence of the phenomenon; the other concerns the strategies used to contend with the effects of working in abuse. Knowledge of child abuse is toxic, in the sense that it serves as a catalyst leading to the alteration of one's self-perception and parental identity. We present a typology of self-alteration resulting from child abuse knowledge and describe the mechanism of this change.

Role taking of youths in a family context: adolescents exposed to interparental violence.

This qualitative study examines the roles enacted by adolescents who lived with interparental violence and the impact of such roles on the formation of their identity. The study sample was composed of 21 Israeli-born Jewish youths ages 13-18 years. Data analysis revealed an emic perspective on the roles enacted by youths at various points in the development of interparental conflict. These roles were described and analyzed in relation to the temporal and spatial dimensions of violent situations and according to the type of involvement, the range of authority and responsibility assumed by the youths, and the extent of choice they exercised in role taking. The results are discussed in terms of current role theory, and some practical implications are suggested.

Violently reactive women and their relationship with an abusive mother.

This article sheds light on the abuse of mothers toward their daughters and its potential influence on the violent behavior of the latter as adults. It contributes to the scarce knowledge on the effects of abuse of each parent on their children by gender. The article is part of a larger study describing the experience of 30 women in Israel who were abusive or violent toward their male partners. It presents the stories of 14 women from the sample who, when sharing their memories of childhood and family-of-origin, spoke of an abusive relationship with their mothers. The various types of these relationships are presented along a continuum based on the severity of violence and emotional detachment of the mothers toward the interviewees, ranging from physical and emotional distancing, through chronic expressions of bitterness and criticism, and ending with severe physical violence. The findings are analyzed through the prism of social construction, relating to the interviewees' use of the psychodynamic discourse when accounting for their past and present abusive relationships. Some limitations and clinical implementations of the study, and needs for further research, are addressed.

Dissociation and the experience of channeling: narratives of Israeli women who practice channeling.

"Channeling" is a phenomenon in which people describe themselves as receiving messages from another personality or dimension of reality. Channeling is often regarded as dissociation, which is a disruption in the usually integrated functions of consciousness, memory, identity, or perception. This study explored the interface between channeling and dissociation through a phenomenological analysis. Qualitative data were obtained through interviews with 20 Israeli women who practice channeling. The analysis revealed 3 themes: dissociation, absorption, and control. The channelers' descriptions correspond with what is coined as "dissociative states" and enable an emic view of the etic definition of dissociation.

Reconstructing intimate violence: the structure and content of recollections of violent events.

The purpose of this article is to explore the structure and content of recollections of violent events among cohabiting partners. The authors used qualitative methodology to examine 48 in-depth interviews. Content analysis of the interviews yielded two parallel and interrelated continua: One represented the life circumstances (staying in spite of violence) impinging on the recollections; the other dealt with the content of the memories of violent events. These two interacted according to a series of structural features. Both men and women living in violent relationships described a contextual variation ranging from choosing to stay to being prevented from leaving. The memory of violence was constructed in a manner meant to achieve coherence with the appropriate context.

Battered women's entrapment in shame: a phenomenological study.

The present study is part of larger research aimed at understanding the impact of the family of origin on battered women's lives, world views, and emotional setup in the context of dyadic life in violence. The sample constitutes 20 Jewish Israeli battered women. Every woman was interviewed in depth for 3 hr. This was done in 3 sessions. Shame was found to be prevalent in battered women's phenomenological biographies. This cuts across both the family of origin and the subsequent intimate dyadic relationship. Shame traps the battered women, having a pervasive influence on the self, relationships with others, and emotional experiences (shame as emotional abuse), and becomes an obstacle in leaving the violence. Implications for intervention are suggested.