This paper explores the
experiences of women who “hear voices” (auditory verbal hallucinations). We
begin by examining historical understandings of women hearing voices, showing
these have been driven by androcentric theories of how women’s bodies
functioned leading to women being viewed as requiring their voices be
interpreted by men.
We show the twentieth century was associated with
recognition that the mental violation of women’s minds (represented by some
voice-hearing) was often a consequence of the physical violation of women’s
bodies.
We next report the results of a qualitative study into voice-hearing
women’s experiences (n = 8). This found similarities between women’s relationships
with their voices and their relationships with others and the wider social
context.
Finally, we present results from a quantitative study comparing
voice-hearing in women (n = 65) and men (n = 132) in a psychiatric setting. Women were more likely than
men to have certain forms of voice-hearing (voices conversing) and to have
antecedent events of trauma, physical illness, and relationship problems.
Voices identified as female may have more positive affect than male voices.
We
conclude that women voice-hearers have and continue to face specific challenges
necessitating research and activism, and hope this paper will act as a stimulus
to such work.
Properties of voices.
| Variable | Men (n = 132) | Women (n = 65) |
|---|---|---|
| Affecta | ||
| Positive voice affect | 5.78 (4.72) | 4.78 (4.57) |
| Negative voice affect | 15.70 (7.80) | 16.65 (7.77) |
| Properties of voice(s) | ||
| Form of addressb | ||
| First person | 24% | 36% |
| Second person | 68% | 81% |
| Third person | 62% | 72% |
| Does not address | 30% | 25% |
| Voices conversinga | ||
| Never | 49% | 31% |
| Rarely | 5% | 11% |
| Sometimes | 26% | 23% |
| Often | 23% | 35% |
| Interpretation of voices | ||
| Voices reflect own thoughts | ||
| No | 39% | 22% |
| Unsure | 8% | 5% |
| Maybe | 9% | 12% |
| Yes | 44% | 62% |
| Antecedent eventsc | ||
| Stress | 78% | 83% |
| Friendship/relationship problem | 55% | 78% |
| Family problems | 54% | 64% |
| Physical illness | 15% | 38% |
| Medication/recreational drugs | 39% | 22% |
| Major trauma | 32% | 47% |
| Divorce | 11% | 6% |
| Change job/finance/location | 57% | 57% |
| Loneliness | 69% | 78% |
| Tiredness | 59% | 77% |
| Death of significant other | 30% | 36% |
aMissing data for one male participant.
bMissing data for three male participants and one female participant.
cMissing data for men ranged from 12 to 31 participants, depending on the question, and from 5 to 12 female participants.
Full article at: http://goo.gl/fUFfsd
By:
1Department of Psychiatry, Trinity College
Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
2Department of Cognitive Science, ARC
Centre of Excellence in Cognition and Its Disorders, Macquarie University,
Sydney, NSW, Australia
3School of Psychology, University of East
London, London, UK
4Independent Scholar, Dublin, Ireland
5Department of English, Utah State
University, Logan, UT, USA
6Hill Centre for Women, McLean Hospital,
Boston, MA, USA
7Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical
School, Boston, MA, USA
8Department of Media and Communications,
Goldsmith’s College, London, UK
Edited by: Gretchen Hermes, Yale University, USA
Reviewed by: Bernhard J. Mitterauer, Volitronics-Institute
for Basic Research Psychopathology and Brain Philosophy, Austria; Thomas Whitford,
University of New South Wales, Australia
*Correspondence: Simon McCarthy-Jones, Email: moc.liamg@senojyhtraccm.s
More at: https://twitter.com/hiv insight
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