Irrational beliefs and conducts present in relatives and victims of kidnap and extortion

Abstract

This research is aimed at analyzing the psychological implications generated by the sudden occurrence of unexpected events, such as kidnap or extortion, by which victims and their closest family circle are fall into a situation of turmoil, unbalance, and cognitive, behavioral, emotional, physical, economical and social disorder likely to worsen according to different either learned or retained and often irrational beliefs and conducts.

The population sample consisted of five men and five women, all of them residing in the city of Cali (Colombia), who had been victims of kidnapping and extortion. In this article, beliefs and conducts present in both the victims and their relatives are described and, based on the postulates of Albert Ellis’s rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT), an analysis is made of how these behaviors tend to affect in greater manner the ambiguous and complex process they must confront. Information
collection was possible through in-depth interviews.

The results revealed that victims feel in some way responsible for their fate, because, as they say. “they did not, by themselves, prevent those unfortunate events from happening”; they meet obstacles to confront their responsibilities, giving rise to feelings of insecurity, inferiority and mistrust, as well as ignorance of their own abilities and qualities.

As for the family members, they suffer emotional distress and disturbances added to feelings of uselessness, aggressiveness, guilt or lack of interest, as well as stress, psychosomatic illnesses, and isolation or shame.