The experience of women who are aggressive: An analysis of incarcerated women from a gestalt therapy theory perspective.

Psychotherapy

May 2021

Full Citation

Smith, V. (1994). The experience of women who are aggressive: An analysis of incarcerated women from a gestalt therapy theory perspective. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

Abstract

A study of eleven women was developed to explore aggressive behavior and to determine how that behavior affects the women's experience of their environment. The affective, cognitive and behavioral perceptions of the women were analyzed to determine their patterns of contact with other people and with themselves. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the dynamics of the women's behavior within the context of their own lives. Eleven women incarcerated in the Women's Correctional Institution, New Castle, Delaware, agreed to participate in this study. They ranged in age from 24 to 39 years. The current convictions of the women varied from drug trafficking, assault, robbery, forgery, possession of weapons to homicide. The following assessment techniques were employed in the study: (1) referrals by prison administrators because of aggressive behavior, (2) Personality Assessment Inventory, (3) institutional records, and (4) interviews. Each woman was interviewed during one session. The interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. The material was analyzed from a Gestalt Therapy Theory perspective. The results of the study suggest that for this group of women, aggression towards others is often a reaction to their own feelings of weakness. In addition, the women find an emotional release to the anger and frustration they feel toward themselves and others by acting aggressively. Similarly, these women use aggression to reject others as they seek to protect themselves from emotional pain. The study also proposes that aggression is often an exercise of power to obtain a desired outcome for the women, a phenomena we generally attribute to aggressive males. Finally, this group of women without exception clearly aggress to protect themselves, a response to the environment they learned as children. The overall study reflects the complexity of aggressive behavior that is rapidly increasing in society. The theoretical discussions and analysis of these women's (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved)