VARIATION IN VICTIMISATION AND INTERPERSONAL DEPENDENCY AMONG TEENAGERS

Abstract

The article presents a study of the variability of victimisation and interpersonal dependence among teenagers, which we obtained through the author's programme. It included two diagnostic techniques to determine the propensity for victim behaviour and types of role victimization, as well as a test to diagnose interpersonal dependence. Two age categories were included in our study: adolescents and late adolescents on the cusp of independent adulthood. We were interested in investigating how likely teenagers were to engage in victimising behaviour and the types of role victimisation of those with different levels of interpersonal dependency, as well as the number of individuals who had already been in unpleasant situations, or who exhibited the role of "victim" for profit.

The results indicated that the vast majority of participants demonstrated that, regardless of their age, they were not often in critical situations, had already developed protective behaviours which enabled them to avoid risky situations, or did not exhibit role-based victimisation and that their level of interpersonal dependence was either "normal" or "below normal". Individuals with a high propensity for victimising behaviour and role victimisation of different variations, in contrast, have a level of co-dependence that is "high". This is evident as individuals with the identification of the role of 'victim' open themselves up to manipulating others and benefiting (morally or financially) from their imagined disadvantage. In this way, such persons try to improve their personal situation by obtaining certain preferences from society. This refers to victimisation and hyper victim behaviour, where interpersonal dependency imposes the role of victim on particular individuals, encouraging them to complain and display individual suffering and self-blaming.