Abstract
The thesis of this paper is that much pathology derives from our inability to deal with our feelings of hurt. The inability to deal with hurt results in the externalization of responsibility which in turn creates victims and dysfunctional behavior. The drama of the externalization of responsibility involves the same individual, the victim, or “identified patient,” playing three successive dysfunctional roles: the scapegoat, the strawman, and the scarecrow. This view of pathology is basically transactional because the process occurs in a familial context where all the parts of the system are intrinsically related in producing a victim.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ackerman, N.Treating the troubled family. New York: Basic Books. inc., 1966.
Andrews, E.The emotionally disturbed family. New York: Aronson. 1974.
Bach, G.R., and Wyden, P.The intimate enemv: How to fight fair in love and marriage. New York: William Morris & Co., 1969.
Bakan, D.Disease, pain and sacrifice: Toward a psychology of suffering. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1968.
Bateson, G.Steps to an ecology of mind. New York: Ballantine Books, 1972.
Bermann, E.Scapegoat: The impact of death-fear on an American family. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1973.
Duval, S., & Wicklund, R.A.A theory of objective self-awareness. New York: Academic Press, 1972.
Freund, J. Divorce and grief.Journal of Family Counseling.1974,2, 40–43.
Ginott, H.Between parent and child. Toronto, Canada: Collier-Macmillan. 1965.
Ianov, A.The primal scream: The anatomy of mental illness. New York: G. P. Putman's Sons. 1971.
Jones, E.E., et al.Attribution: Perceiving the causes of behavior. Morristown N. J.: General Learning Press, 1971.
Jourard, S.M.Healthy personality: An approach from the viewpoint of humanistic psychology. New York: Macmillan, 1974.
Kopp, S. The refusal to mourn,Voices, 1969, 28–32.
L'Abate, L. Pathogenic role rigidities in fathers: Some observations.Journal of Marriage and Family Counseling, 1975,1, 77–87.
L'Abate, L.Understanding and helping the individual in the family. New York: Grune and Stratton, 1976.
L'Abate, L. Psychodynamic interventions: A personal statement. In R. H. Woody & J. D. Woody (Eds.)Sexual, marital, and family relations: Therapeutic intervention for professional helping. Springfield, Ill.: C. C. Thomas, 1973, 122–180.
L'Abate, L.Principles of clinical psychology. New York: Crune & Stratton, 1964.
Laing, R. Mystification, confusion, and conflict. In I. Bosormenyi-Nagy and J. Framo (Eds.)Intensive family therapy. New York: Harper & Row, 1965.
Langsley, Donald G., & Kaplan, Daniel M.The treatment of families in crisis. New York: Grune & Stratton, 1968.
Marris, P.Loss and change. New York: Pantheon, 1974.
Miller, D.T., and Ross, M. Self-serving bias in the attribution of causanty: Fact or fiction?Psychological Bulletin, 1975,82, 213–225.
Pincus, L.Death and the family: The importance of mourning. New York: Pantheon, 1974.
Rotter, J.B., Chance, June E., and Phares, E.J. (Eds.)Applications of a social learning theorv of personality. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1972.
Satir, Virginia.Peoplemaking. Palo Alto, California: Science and Behavior Books, 1972.
Schoenberg, B., Carr, A.C., Peretz, D. & Kutscher, A.H. (Eds.)Loss and grief: Psychological management in clinical practice. New York: Columia University Press, 1970.
Szasz, T.S. The communication of distress between child and parent,British Journal of Medical Psychology, 1959,32, 161–170.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
L'Abate, L., Weeks, G. & Weeks, K. Of scapegoats, strawmen, and scarecrows. International Journal of Family Therapy 1, 86–96 (1979). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00926792
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00926792