In the following articles, I will select sections from my doctoral dissertation from 2009. If you wish to download the dissertation just press Doctoral theses at NTNU 2009:184
An Existential-Dialogical Perspective of Social Work
within the Settings of a Norwegian Incest Centre
Department of Social Work and Health
Science
Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NTNU
Abstract
The present study is an exploration
into the concept and phenomenon of shame within the context of sexual abuse and
within the settings of a Norwegian Incest Centre. The
problem of interest which I have chosen in this study is how shame is used as a
concept and how it appears as a phenomenon at the Incest Centre in Vestfold. This
is an institution which has struggled for the recognition of
sexually abused children since 1988. The Centre is founded and led by a professional
social worker who endorses the use of social work practice among victims of
child sexual abuse and their relatives. How social work is advocated in this
institution is of interest in this exploration.
The dissertation is divided into six
parts and 29 chapters. Part One consists of one chapter where I explain why I
have chosen to write a dissertation on this subject and why I have chosen the Incest Center
in Vestfold as the site for the emipircal research in this study. I also
describe the critical-hermeneutical position I have chosen in this exploration
and why I mean the existential-dialogical perspective of Søren Kierkegaard and
Martin Buber are important for this study. Axel Honneth’s theory of recognition
is explicated as being a girder for merging the existential-dialogical perspective
within the context of social work practice.
Part Two consists of two chapters
where I describe the settings for my study that has been carried out within the
context of child sexual abuse and within the settings of a Norwegian Incest
Centre. I first describe the problems involved in defining sexual abuse and how
the many definitions influence the variation of studies that have measured the
prevalence of sexual abuse in various populations and cultures. I then give a
presentation of some of the possible consequences of sexual abuse. Thereafter
follows a description of the Incest Centre in Vestfold where this study has
been carried out. Their manner of working, therapy which is offered, and
qualifications the workers at this Centre have are depicted. Finally in part Two,
I illustrate other crucial categories than shame and explain how these
categories have come forth in this study.
Part Three consists of six chapters
where I explore different theoretical aspects which I have chosen as relevant
in this study. I start with an exploration into Kierkegaard’s existential philosophy
and Buber’s dialogical philosophy before exploring sociological and
psychological theories which I have found significant. I close part Three with
reflections of shame as both a moral and social emotion. This study emphasizes
how shame is manifested in social relations, and shame is described as a social-self-conscious emotion. Shame may
also be a major component of our conscience; a moral emotion. It can signal a
moral transgression even without thoughts and words. Shame seems to come into
being in situations characterized by a threat against inter-relational bonds.
It may signal that there are problems in a relationship and/or that the individual
has failed to live up to his or her social and moral standards.
Part Four consists of five chapters
and starts with a consideration of the ethical and methodological issues
involved in a study of the sensitive subject of shame in vulnerable individuals
who have suffered sexual abuse. This is to insure that the material that is collected
is treated in such a way that the demands concerning anonymity and integrity are
not violated. I then describe the design used in the qualitative study. Interviews
with 19 informants are videotaped, transcribed and analyzed with QSR NVivo7.
Active interviewing is described as the method used in the interviews and
explained within the context of constructivist grounded theory and a
hermeneutical dialectical process. Part Four concludes with two quantitative surveys
which I have carried out in order to explore shame-proneness and other self-conscious
affects (Test of Self-Conscious Affects, TOSCA-3) in a group of 221
university/college students and in a group of 180 sexually abused men and
women. These surveys are carried out because I was curious about: in what
degree shame-proneness is a phenomenon which can be measured; if people who
have been sexually abused have a greater degree of shame-proneness than
university college students; which possible relation shame-proneness might have
to other self-conscious emotions such as guilt and pride; and to investigate if
TOSCA-3 really measures what it intends to measure (construct validity). The
results from this survey seem to show among others; that those who have been
sexually abused do not seem to have a greater degree of shame-proneness than
university/college students but they seem to show a higher degree of
correlation between shame-proneness and guilt-proneness (r=.68). The statistical
findings are examined and the need for further statistical examination is discussed
at the end of part Four. A number of statistical tables and charts used in the
surveys are also put forth both in the text and in the appendix so as to insure
validity to the findings. The findings from the two surveys, especially that
shame-proneness and guilt-proneness seem to be highly correlated among those
who have been sexually abused, were used in the planning and implementation of
the qualitative exploration to follow.
Part Five is the largest section in
the exploration and consists of 11 chapters. Here the concept and phenomenon of
shame is explored through a qualitative study where 19 employees and users of
the Incest Centre in Vestfold were interviewed. The interviews were carried out
in five focus groups which were interviewed two times, and each interview
lasted for two hours, a total of 20 hours. I have also carried out in-depth
interviews with four of the participants from the interviews. These four were
selected during the focus group interviews because some of the stories that
were told needed, in my opinion, further examination. All the interviews were
carried out in Norwegian, videotaped and transcribed. First after categorizing
the material in the analysis, and quotations were chosen to be used in the
dissertation, were the Norwegian quotations translated to English.
The categories derived from the
analysis are divided in two main groups: self and others. The 11 chapters were
created according to the analysis of 633 pages of transcriptions. The relation
between shame and self is explored and thereafter shames relation to: other
emotions (guilt, anger and embarrassment); self-harming; body; and food. Shame
in relation to others (significant others) consists of a discussion of shames
relation to: fathers; mothers; brothers and sisters; children; and partners/sex.
The results of the investigation seem to show that: shame involves an acutely
painful experience; individuals who experience shame will often feel a sense of
worthlessness; incompetence; a generalized feeling of contempt for themselves;
and these negative evaluations can engulf the entire self. The results also seem
to show that sexually abused men and women suffer from the violation of their
dignity and not only from the assault on their bodies. At the core of their sufferings;
disrespect and humiliation seem to be found. The informants speak of shame,
guilt when they describe themselves and portray their lives with words that
convey despair and suffering. The blaming and shaming of mothers and children
is explored and put forth as one of several findings in the qualitative exploration.
Part Six includes three chapters. First,
findings from the qualitative exploration are discussed with special focus on
the: social self; exclusion; negative self-evaluation; alienation; and the
annihilation of trusting relationships. There seems, in my opinion, to be four
major findings. First of all, it seems that the concept and phenomenon of shame
is often used interchangeably with guilt by those who have experienced sexual
abuse as children and seem often to merge into the same emotion. This seems to
confirm the finding from the quantitiative study where the correlation between
shame-proneness and guilt-proneness was high (r=.68). Second, reports of
self-harming and eating-disorders seem in to be more closely related to shame
than to the sexual abuse as such. Third, Mother-Blaming and Mother-Shaming seem
to be widespread among the participants. Fourth, children and especially those
who have experienced being sexually abused seem to suffer from Child-Blaming
and Child-Shaming in much the same way as mothers. The blaming and shaming of
mothers and children seems to result, in my opinion, in a destructive spiral. Thereafter
I discuss what I find to be the possible implications for social work. Special
focus is here placed on: inclusion; a positive self-evaluation; taking oneself
back; practical wisdom (knowledge); self-knowledge; respect; and recognition. The
healing process of shame within the context of sexual abuse is discussed in
this part. The interviews seem to imply that helping victims of sexual abuse
within the settings of the Incest Centre in Vestfold, demand that social
workers: start the helping process where the others are; helping them in their
struggle for recognition and respect; offering support; building a trusting
relationship; and helping others to create new identities through intersubjective
meetings where life stories are met with recognition and respect. Part Six
concludes with a summary of the six parts in this dissertation.
Kaare T. Pettersen
Well, Thank you so much for your kind comment Constance.You make me blush.. Kaare
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