Rorschachs of Women Who Commit Homicide

Abstract

For a majority of the women who kill, the victim is a family member; the most frequent is a spouse, and the woman is very frequently a battered woman. Clinical reports on battered women suggest a set of psychological symptoms that develops out of spousal abuse (i.e., pervasive anxiety, hyperalertness, impaired memory and concentration, a narrowed focus on signs of danger, constricted affect, development of chronic psychophysiological illnesses, and pervasive feelings of hopelessness and helplessness). Psychological tests have not been systematically used to assess or document these psychological symptoms. The present study employed the Rorschach to assess the psychological functioning of 28 battered women who killed their battering spouses. The Rorschach records displayed cognitive constriction, a lack of internal resources for problem solving, an ambitensive and passive problem-solving style, intense and poorly modulated affect, poor scanning of the stimulus field, and unconventional reality testing. The Rorschach protocols of this group showed strong similarities to those of veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Common psychological effects of the experience of inescapable violence are suggested.