Identification With the Aggressor and Inward and Outward Aggression in Abuse Survivors

Abstract

Childhood abuse survivors may display both inward and outward aggression manifested in self-injurious behavior (SIB) and violent acts toward others. Scrutinizing the literature reveals that the relational dynamics between victims and their perpetrators might be involved in these phenomena. Yet, research on this subject matter has been sparse. Filling this gap, this study investigated the contribution of the singular bonds between victims and their perpetrators, known as identification with the aggressor, in explaining survivors’ aggression. The study was conducted among 306 Israeli college/university students who reported a history of childhood abuse. Results revealed that levels of adopting the perpetrator’s experience, identifying with the perpetrator’s aggression, and replacing one’s agency with that of the perpetrator were significantly associated with survivors’ inward and outward aggression. Moreover, profile type—that is, having high versus low levels of identification with the aggressor—was implicated in participants’ SIBs, urge to harm others, and violent acts toward others, above and beyond the effects of gender and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. The present findings suggest that identification with the aggressor might make survivors prone to the re-enactment of past abusive dynamics, which, in turn, could eventuate in aggression toward themselves and others.

A Complex Relationship: Intimate Partner Violence, Identification With the Aggressor, and Guilt

“…Third, as part of IWA, victims may internalize the perpetrator's aggression and may direct this aggression both inward and outward (Frankel, 2002;. Finally, victims who identify with their abusers may adopt their perpetrator's experience concerning the abuse; they may come to mold themselves to their perpetrators, and to view the abuse from their abuser's perspective-namely, to rationalize or deny the abuse while at the same time experiencing selfblame and self-hatred Lahav et al, 2020).…”

Child Maltreatment and Subjective Well-being in Chinese Emerging Adults: A Process Model Involving Self-esteem and Self-compassion

“…Approximately 60% of the participants reported having suffered more than one of the five types of maltreatment in their childhood. When compared to the prevalence of child maltreatment measured in the same way among college samples in other countries (e.g., the United States, Canada, Turkey, and Israel; emotional abuse, 22.8–46.9%; emotional neglect, 25–49%; physical abuse, 15.2–42.9%; physical neglect, 16.3–32.7%; sexual abuse, 11.4–40.1%; Kircaburun et al, 2020; Lahav et al, 2022; Lahav et al, 2019; Mathews et al, 2008; Paivio & Cramer, 2004; Şar et al, 2019), we found a higher prevalence of emotional and physical neglect.…”

“Like stepping on glass”: A theoretical model to understand the emotional experience of childhood parentification

“…In the hope that they would be permitted to survive, they used their strong capacity for empathy and identification to reshape their beliefs and behaviors to fit the ideal image of themselves in the mind of their parents (i.e., the attacker). Thus, their risk-taking, self-harming, and punitive behaviors can be seen as manifestations of identifying with the perpetrator in abuse situations (Lahav et al, 2022) and internalization of the "malignant self-object" (Kohut, 1971) in order to survive. Nevertheless, at the same time, they introjected aspects of external reality and created fantasies that helped them live in the external reality (Frankel, 2002).…”