Psychological functioning of Filipino deaf sex offenders: A Rorschach analysis

• Main Author: Ligasan, Lorelie C.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2002
• Subjects: Deafness; Rorschach Test; Sex offenders; Deaf; Clinical Psychology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/2953
• Institution: De La Salle University

Rorschach protocols of 30 Filipino Deaf youth offenders, who met criteria for major sex, minor sex and non-sex offenses were compared against each other, and to a non offender group, to identify psychological functioning. They were matched for age, educational background, socioeconomic status, academic intelligence and also with etiology of deafness requirements including onset, level of deafness and communication mode used, to find out general profiles of offenders' psychological functioning. All 50 Comprehensive System Rorschach variables [Exner 1991] were studied and analyzed based on the psychosocial aspects of development involving cognition, ideation, affect, perception of self and others stress tolerance and controls. Cultural and linguistic aspects of deafness brought similarities in psychological functioning regardless of an offense or not. It found general presence of helplessness, low self esteem and prompt into action, susceptibility problems, chronic stress overload and lack of self reflective abilities. There is presence of ultraconservative and simplistic approach using cognitive economy, made more difficult by the presence of mindset inflexibility and perseveration despite being capable of exploring alternatives to problem solving. In terms of interpersonal attitudes, there is a general interest in people and social relations, despite their unconventional, atypical and unusual perception of others that led to their overly pedantic view of the world. Non offenders managed to prevent probable offending behavioral outcomes despite absence of insight and having been reared by hearing caregivers. They possess sophisticated and good quality of cognitive operations and processing or practical intelligence, creativity, abstraction and conceptualization, good amount of motivation, awareness of self and others or affective complexity. These variables creates awareness that leads to painful and overwhelming state if not timely and appropriately intervened, resulting to disruption of controls because of their chronic state that may lead to internal turmoil through psychological breakdown. Statistically significant findings on nature of an offense include non sex offenders found to be the most ultraconservative, over simplistic and economized in their cognitive approach, response style and tendency towards stressful or complex situations than sex and non offenders. In terms of ideation, they are also found the least flawed in thinking and logic than their sex offender counterpart.