Female murderers: Examination of the relationship between childhood traumatic experiences and anger expression

Authors

  • İrem Akduman Süleyman Şah University
  • Dilek Çelik Süleyman Şah University
  • Nurhan Tiftik Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Counseling Center

Keywords:

Female Murderer, Trauma, Childhood Trauma, Anger Expression Styles, Trait Anger

Abstract

Adverse childhood period and abuse experiences may lead to some problems later in life. One of these problems is aggressive behavior, which is thought to be a reflection of the child’s increasing anger (Page, 2004; Olive, 2007).  Based on the fact that negative childhood experiences can lead to aggressive emotions, investigating the relationship between traumatic childhood experiences and female convicts’ aggression expression styles was considered important.

Sample of the research consists of 77 females who are homicide convicts selected from correctional institutes in three different cities. Data gathered from the participants were examined by using the Turkish versions of The Childhood Trauma Questionnaire and The State-Trait Anger Scale.

A positive and meaningful relationship between childhood trauma experiences and trait anger levels of participants was observed. In addition, there was a significant relationship between childhood trauma experiences and domestic violence as well as perceived problematic relationship with family members during childhood. Trait anger and internal anger were also found to be significantly related to perceived problematic relationship with family members during childhood.   Results of the analyses were discussed in detail.

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Author Biographies

İrem Akduman, Süleyman Şah University

İrem Akduman, graduated from Koç University, psychology department, had her masters degree on clinical psychology from Bosphorus University. She had her doctoral degree from İstanbul University, Forensic Medicine Institute on Forensic Psychology. Currently, she is working as an assistant professor, in Suleyman Sah University and she is working as psychotherapist in her private practice. Her topics of interest in forensic area are criminal psychology, criminal and psychological profiling, violent crimes, sexual crimes, child abuse and domestic violence.  In the clinical area, she is specialized on psychological trauma, grief, mood disorders and anxiety disorders. She is teaching and giving trainings on the topics mentioned and has scientific publications in these areas. 

Dilek Çelik, Süleyman Şah University

Dilek Çelik, graduated from Bosphorus University, psychology department, had her masters degree on developmental psychology from Bosphorus University. She had her doctoral degree from İstanbul University, Forensic Medicine Institute on Forensic Psychology. Currently, she is working as an assistant professor, in Suleyman Sah University and she is consulting in various NGO's about Children Rights. Her topics of interest are statement validity analysis, criminal responsibility of juveniles, criminal psychology, criminal and psychological profiling, violent crimes, sexual crimes, child abuse and domestic violence.  

Nurhan Tiftik, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Counseling Center

Nurhan Tiftik graduated from Maltepe University, psychology department, had her masters degree on clinical psychology from Maltepe University. Currently, she is working as psychotherapist in a public institution. Her topics of interest in especially children and adolescents with psychological trauma, child abuse. In the clinical area, she is specialized area on psychological trauma, anxiety disorders, mood disorders and behavior problems. She is also working child and adolescents. 

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Published

2016-04-01

How to Cite

Akduman, İrem, Çelik, D., & Tiftik, N. (2016). Female murderers: Examination of the relationship between childhood traumatic experiences and anger expression. Journal of Human Sciences, 13(1), 1873–1886. Retrieved from https://j-humansciences.com/ojs/index.php/IJHS/article/view/3712

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Psychology