THE EFFECTS OF VICTIM-BLAMING HABIT AMONG ELDERS TO THE MENTAL

HEALTH OF GEN Z

A Research Paper

Presented to

Mr. Howell Garret Baldonado

of Naujan Academy Inc.

In Partial Fulfilment

of the Requirements

for the Subject – Inquiries, Investigations, and Immersion

By

Mikaela Joy D. Cuasay

Yrish H. De Leon

Grade 12 – St. Agatha of Sicily (STEM)

December 2022
 CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study     

Filipinos are generally known for being happy, friendly, and very

hospitable people, and we are known for all these good qualities all

over the world. But, these people also have negative habits which

affects the lives of Filipinos. Some of these Filipino toxic traits

are “Bahala na” Attitude, Procrastination or “Mañana Habit“, Crab

Mentality, Lack of self- discipline, Filipino Time, "Noong panahon

namin..."(During our time...) trait, "Bakit 'di mo gayahin si..." (Why

don't you be like...) trait, Kids as "retirement benefit" trait,

Excessive "utang na loob" trait, "Bawal mangatuwiran" (Not allowed to

reason out) trait and Victim-blaming trait. These negative traits may

affect the psychological and mental state of a person and sometimes

trigger a certain mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression.

Depression and other mental illnesses are more stigmatized among

the older generation (Generation X), for whom the topic is a taboo

that is accompanied by numerous misconceptions. As a mental health

patient, the unfortunate complex of inequality is usually what widens

the generation gap even further. This mindset actually causes more

problems because they refuse to accept its existence, resulting in an

even longer path of struggling without therapeutic interventions.

Mental illness has never been a choice; it is a state of being that

must be addressed rather than isolated. The idea that you can just
‘switch off’ or ‘stop over-thinking’ about your psychological state

still appears to exist within Generation X.

Victim-blaming is a phenomenon that has existed since the

beginning of recorded history, but it was only recently identified as

a dynamic used to empower the criminal and maintain the status quo.

Victim-blaming occurs when a victim of a crime or abuse is held

partially or entirely responsible for the actions of others. In other

words, the victims are held accountable for the abuse they have

suffered. Victim Blaming In general, refers to an attributional

tendency in which some level of responsibility for a negative outcome

is placed on victims (Maes, 1994). Early theorists have posited that

attribution of responsibility to victims exists on a continuum from

being wholly innocent to fully responsible for the act of crime,

maltreatment, or misfortune (von Hentig, 1941, 1948; Mendelsohn, 1976,

1982; Schafer, 1968). For example, victims who did not contribute to

the act (e.g., victims of natural disasters) should bear no

responsibility for their victimization (von Hentig, 1941, 1948;

Mendelsohn, 1976, 1982; Schafer, 1968), whereas victims considered to

be precipitative or provocative (e.g., those who wear certain clothes,

those who provoke perpetrators; Mendelsohn, 1976, 1982), as well as

highly guilty victims (e.g., a robber who is murdered) will likely be

attributed high levels of victim responsibility. However, the wholly

innocent victim is quite rare (Eigenberg & Garland, 2008), and there

remains a tendency to blame individuals even when the victim’s role in

the victimization is unclear. This blame can appear in the form of

negative social responses from legal, medical, and mental health

professionals, as well as from the media and immediate family members

and other acquaintances. Some crime victims are treated more

sympathetically by society than others. Responses to crime victims are

often based on others' misunderstandings of them. This

misunderstanding may cause them to conclude that the victim deserved

what happened to them, or that they are violent people with low self-

esteem. As a result, victims may find it difficult to cope when they

are blamed for what has happened to them.

Victim-blaming is perpetuated by sexism, the Just World Theory,

cognitive biases, and the theories of self-blame. Perpetrators of

crimes for which they blame the victim frequently have a higher social

status than the victim, and their blaming usually involves the use of

stereotypical negative words. Victim blaming is thus prevalent in hate

crimes, discrimination, rape, and bullying. People who victim-blame do

this primarily to justify abuse or social injustice. However, it is

not only the perpetrator who blames the victim. Victim-blaming is

practiced and enforced by perpetrators, bystanders, society, and even

victims themselves. Each group of people who blame the victim seems to

do so for a variety of reasons, including their lack of power, self-

defense, and a desire to find logical explanations for abuse or social

injustice.

"Victim-blaming comes up all the time in sessions," says Dr. Anju

Hurria, a psychiatrist and assistant clinical professor of child and

adolescent psychiatry at the University of California-Irvine. "It's

really considered a secondary trauma or a secondary assault." She says

those who are blamed for abuse experienced "greater distress and

increased amounts of depression; it usually complicates their post-

traumatic stress disorder, if they're experiencing that, because

they're dealing with two different assaults. " We sometimes find an

increase in suicidal thoughts, which typically reduces people's

chances of reporting subsequent abuses because they are afraid that

they won't be believed or will face negative consequences for

reporting it." When a person has been the victim of abuse, almost

always, psychological specialists believe that the individual suffers

shame - internalizing part of the emotional and mental damage

inflicted; this is in addition to how the abuse, whether physical or

sexual, may physically mark a person. Beverly Engel, a marriage and

family therapist based in Los Osos, California, says that “Children,

in particular, always see themselves to blame for whatever happens,”.

“They blame themselves for things they had nothing to do with. That’s

just a child mentality.” Adults, on the other hand, often blame

themselves, and many who have been abused find themselves being blamed

by others for the pain they have suffered, in subtle or overt ways.

Experts believe victim-blaming is a societal practice that may have a

severe psychological impact on someone who is already fighting to heal

from abuse. Victim blaming may have a wide range of negative and

tragic consequences for innocent victims who are held accountable even

if they have no responsibility for the crime perpetrated against them.

One aspect of victim blaming is the influence it has on later crime

reporting. Victims who get negative comments and blame are more

distressed and less inclined to report future assault. Victims who

have been blamed would like to prevent further victimization,

therefore they do not disclose additional crime. Unfortunately,

Filipino elders appear to practice victim-blaming traits towards their

children or even towards people they only knew.

The researchers conducted this study to develop an understanding

towards the effects of victim-blaming habit of Filipino elders to the

mental health of Gen Z.

Statement of the problem         

This study aims to know the effects of victim blaming habits

among elders to the mental health of Gen z.

Specifically, it seeks to answer the following questions:

1. Does Gen Z experience the victim blaming habit of elders

inside their home?         

2. Are Gen Z's aware that they are experiencing victim blaming in

their homes?         

3. Does experiencing victim blaming influences the mental health

of Gen Z?         

4. Does the impact of victim blaming in the mental health of Gen

Z affect their academic performance in school?

Conceptual Framework

INDEPENDENT VARIABLE PROCESS DEPENDENT VARIABLE

Filipino toxic Gathering of data

trait: through: Mental Health
Victim-Blaming of Gen Z
1.bQuestionnaire
Habit of Filipino
elders 2.bResearch
Significance of the Study          

The researcher believed that the results of this study will help

the following individuals and groups.          

Gen Z. This specific generation benefit the study for it focuses

on the possible effects of victim blaming habit of elders to their

mental health. This study serves as their guide to be aware of this

Filipino Toxic trait and to avoid it in the future.          

Elders. This study aims to help the elders to be aware of this

habit and its effects on the mental health of their young ones.

Teachers. This study will serve as their guide to lead their

students to the right path regarding this victim blaming habit. It

will also help them understand the situation of Gen Z who experiences

this victim blaming habit          

Parents. This study aims to help the parents in nurturing their

children healthily. This study also aims to raise awareness to the

possible effects of victim blaming habit to the mental health of their

children.          

Future researchers. This study can be used as reference for the

future researchers to fully understand the concept of Victim blaming

habit of elders.
Scope and delimitations of the study          

This study aims to determine the effects of victim-blaming habit

of elders to the mental health of Gen Z. This study also aims to know

if Gen Z are aware of victim blaming habit of elders in their homes

and if they know its effect on their academic performance in school.

The respondents of the study are limited to the 20 randomly

selected Gen Z in Barangay Sta. Cruz and Barangay San Isidro in the

Municipality of Naujan with age ranging from 15-18 years old in year

2023.            

The data gathering is limited to the use of questionnaires which

will be given to the randomly selected respondents.

Definition of Terms

1. Academic Performance - is the measurement of student achievement

across various academic subjects.

2. Generation X - is the Western demographic cohort following the baby

boomers and preceding the millennials. They are what we call the

“elders”.            

3. Generation Z – also called as Gen Z. It is the generation that came

after millennials and was born between 1997 and 2012. They grew up

with easier access to education about mental health.

4. Mental Health - includes our emotional, psychological, and social

well-being. It has an impact on how we think, feel, and act. It also

influences how we deal with stress, interact with people, and make

good decisions.

5. Victim blaming - can be defined as someone saying, implying, or

treating a person who has experienced harmful or abusive behaviour

(such as a survivor of sexual violence) like it was a result of

something they did or said, instead of placing the responsibility

where it belongs: on the person who harmed them.

 CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Foreign Literature

William Ryan coined the phrase “blaming the victim” in his book

Blaming the Victim in 1971, as a response to years of oppression and

the civil rights movement. He views victim-blaming as a strategy for

keeping the privileged group in power (Zur). Since then, advocates for

crime victims, especially rape victims, have adopted the phrase.

Despite the fact that Ryan coined the phrase, the phenomena is

extensively documented in psychology and history. As previously

established, victim-blaming has occurred from the beginning of

recorded history. Unfortunately, victim-blaming persists and has just

lately been recognized as a problem. Perpetrators blame their victims

in order to evade punishment and protect their freedom to abuse in the

future. The reason for a perpetrator's actions and continuing abuse

appears to arise from a sense of entitlement and a desire to wield

power over others. One example is when individuals attempt to explain

racism towards black people in the United States. Ryan described this

phenomenon in his book Blame the Victim, which was written in reaction

to Daniel Moynihan's The Negro Family: The Case for National Action

(1965), which blamed black people for their plight (Kirkpatrick 219).

While this incorrect assumption was previously widely held throughout

society, the media has extensively promoted and defended it. When

white individuals are racist toward black people, a popular

justification is that the black person deserves it for reasons that

usually contain statements about their conduct, which usually

incorporates negative racial stereotypes. Racism against black people

has developed erroneous preconceptions such as danger,

untrustworthiness, laziness, and aggression. When black people have

been repressed and abused, these stereotypes have led to and supported

victim blame. For example, if a black individual is attacked in a

largely white area, they may be accused of acting suspiciously or

threateningly. Instead of admitting wrongdoing, perpetrators justify

their behavior by stating it was in self-defense.

Rape survivors are another downtrodden group that is victim-

blamed by their offenders. The standard blaming asserts that in order

to prevent being harassed or raped, women should dress a certain way,

act a certain way, and be cautious about where they go. One reason

women are taught this is because of sexist societal expectations and

criticisms of women that are used to victimize and blame them. Several

rape survivors have been accused by their assailants, who say the lady

"asked for it" due to her attire or conduct (Anderson, K. J., &

Accomando 24-28, 1999). By blaming the victim, the rapist avoids

punishment and maintains power over women. If they believe they are

not at fault, they may feel free to rape again. Rapists also victim

blame because they believe they are superior to women and hence have

the right to dominate them. This imagined power comes from sexism,

which leads to victim-blaming. Victims who are blamed for their abuse

are frequently seen to be inferior to the offender in some way. In

this case, male gender privilege permits the offenders to blame the
victim with no repercussions (Anderson, K. J., & Accomando 24-28,

1999). Rapists manufacture justifications in order to conceal the

reasons they assault women. Victim-blaming is merely a convenient

approach to dodge the repercussions of misbehavior and shift the

responsibility to the disadvantaged victim. Over time, offenders, who

were mostly members of a group that aims to dominate the victim group,

persuade others to do the same through victim-blaming.

Based on David Myers’ Social Psychology, the phenomenon when

individuals do not help in emergency situations and either instead

ignore it or enforce it is called the bystander effect. In the

circumstance of victim-blaming, the bystander effect is when

individuals allow crimes and further victim-blaming to occur. This

occurrence is perpetuated as the number of bystanders increases

(Meyers, 2010). While someone may not abuse someone, participating in

victim blaming not only reinforces the social expectations and

fallacies perpetrated, but also prevents victims from seeking redress

for the crimes committed against them and from recovering. Bystanders

and society at large victim-blames in order to protect themselves from

the perpetrators. In other words, bystanders convince themselves that

they would be secure as long as they do not do what the victim did to

"deserve" the violence. The Just World Theory proposes that only

negative things happen to people if they have done something wrong to

deserve it. According to the notion, individuals convince themselves

that the world is a secure and just place where people receive what

they deserve. If an occurrence establishes the world as unfair,

individuals blame the victim or strive to persuade themselves and

others that no injustice happened. For example, a person can assert

that because the world is a just place, the victim must have deserved

to be abused for some reason or another (Andre, Velasquez). Making the

victim deserving of their abuse in order to ensure a just world is a

common form of victim-blaming. Society also has an optimism bias,

which holds that bad things happen to other individuals but that the

world is secure (Britt). Society provides the illusion of control over

all their experiences by believing the world is a safe place and all

harm is earned.

Foreign Studies

Elizabeth Conaway’s Victim Blaming study states that the notion

of shifting the blame from the rape victim to the perpetrator is a

product of the advocacy and determination of the feminist movement

initiated in the 1960s. In my research concerning how these

revolutionary ideas have evolved, become embedded in, and affected

rape culture, several crucial matters are at stake. For one thing, I

risk discovering that the idea of a blame-free victim advocated by the

feminists of the 1960s is a trend that subsided with the conclusion of

the second wave of feminist action. I may find through my research

that only fragments of notions propagated by the initial feminist push

for rape law reform and victim services remain in place, or worse yet,

are completely gone. Another risk is the continuing threat to the

existence of these ideas as they compete with other theories of

sexuality and victimization, such as sexual Darwinism. Also at stake

is the threatening conclusion that even the service providers at the

local rape crisis center might not embody the ideals of the philosophy

on which their practice stands.

(Roberts, 2016) Victim blaming comes in many forms, and is

oftentimes subtler and more unconscious than Metzger’s tirade. It can

apply to cases of rape and sexual assault, but also to more mundane

crimes, like a person who gets pickpocketed and is then chided for his

decision to carry his wallet in his back pocket. Any time someone

defaults to questioning what a victim could have done differently to

prevent a crime, he or she is participating, to some degree, in the

culture of victim blaming. While victim blaming isn’t entirely

universal (some individuals’ experiences, background, and culture make

them significantly less likely to victim blame), in some ways, it is a

natural psychological reaction to crime. Not everyone who engages in

victim blaming explicitly accuses someone of failing to prevent what

happened to them. In fact, in its more understated forms, people may

not always realize that they’re doing it. Something as simple as

hearing about a crime and thinking you would have been more careful

had you been in the victim’s shoes is a mild form of victim blaming.

“I think the biggest factor that promotes victim blaming is something

called the just-world hypothesis,” says Sherry Hamby, a professor of

psychology at the University of the South and the founding editor of

the APA’s Psychology of Violence journal. “It’s this idea that people

deserve what happens to them. There’s just a really strong need to

believe that we all deserve our outcomes and consequences.”

 When faced with written accounts of non-sexual crime scenarios

including residence robbery, assault and robbery, and simple assault,

undergraduate students assigned significantly greater personal

responsibility to male victims. This suggests a stronger presence of

victim-blaming attitudes towards male victims (Whitlow, 2020). While

males were instructed to take proper action once faced by

perpetrators, females were instructed to alter their daily routines so

as to avoid an incident altogether. Additionally, the female victims’

gender was invoked as a reason to alter their behavior, whereas this

never happened in the cases where men experienced crime. Further,

social workers involved in social work education, particularly with

undergraduates, should encourage critical thinking that reduces

victim-blaming attitudes and proven gender discrepancies. This is

especially important on college campuses due to recent culture shifts

that have encouraged greater discussion of sex crimes and gender

inequality. Inclusion of victim-blaming in coursework that addresses

crime and associated trauma is needed to dismantle stigma placed on

victims by individuals and systems.

Local literature

Malig (2020), in his article, "What is victim-blaming and how

can we stop doing it?" stated that people might blame the victim

because of the Just-World theory incorporated into their lives. People

have a mindset that if you experience rape, perhaps you wore revealing

clothes and got home late. People believe that rapists are hideous
monstrous creatures and that it is women's responsibility to stop

them. As stated in the article, people uphold these myths because it's

easier to justify rape because of what the victims did.

(Twenge, 2023) They have had vastly different life experiences and

thus, one assumes, they must have vastly diverged beliefs and

behaviors. But what are those differences, what causes them, and how

deep do they actually run? Professor of psychology and “reigning

expert on generational change” (Lisa Wade, PhD, author of American

Hookup), Jean Twenge does a deep dive into a treasure trove of long-

running, government-funded surveys and databases to answer these

questions. Are we truly defined by major historical events, such as

the Great Depression for the Silents and September 11 for Millennials?

Or, as Twenge argues, is it the rapid evolution of technology that

differentiates the generations? With her clear-eyed and insightful

voice, Twenge explores what the Silents and Boomers want out of the

rest of their lives; how Gen X-ers are facing middle age; the ideals

of Millennials as parents and in the workplace; and how Gen Z has been

changed by COVID, among other fascinating topics. Surprising,

engaging, and informative, Generations will forever change the way you

view your parents, peers, coworkers, and children, no matter which

generation you call your own.

In an article about psychological effects of victim blaming, it

stated that victim-blaming can also worsen symptoms of anxiety. And

experts say it can increase shame, leave a person more disconnected

from their own feelings as well as make it harder to connect with

other people and ultimately stand in the way of recovery. Where in

some abuse cases the facts may be legitimately disputed, experts say

frequently a plain truth is obscured by murky intentions – such as

when the family of a victim seeks to keep the issue quiet, because the

perpetrator is a family member. “No one ever deserves to be hurt,” no

matter the circumstances, says Jen Marsh, vice president of victim

services for RAINN, or Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network, an

anti-sexual violence organization that partners with local sexual

assault service providers across the country. In talking with a person

who has been victimized, don't fixate on questions and refrain from

qualifying statements, experts say, like pointing out if a person was

drinking when abuse occurred, which implicitly make excuses for the

perpetrator. “The survivor is already in a place where they will

interpret questions – particularly questions that begin with ‘why’ –

‘Why were you’ – as blaming them for what happened,” Marsh says. And

don't be afraid to intervene if others victim-blame. “It’s OK to speak

up in those situations and reiterate publicly and loudly that nothing

anybody ever does warrants them to be hurt, and that’s the bottom

line,” she says. At a most basic level, experts say a person needs to

be free to feel the way they do, and affirmed by those who love them,

so they can process those feelings. “We need to be validated,” Engel

says. It's also important for a person seeking help to find a mental

health professional they trust. “Find a therapist you feel really

comfortable with, because it’s an extremely personal thing,” Hurria

says. She notes that may involve interviewing multiple therapists,

before selecting one; treatment, like trauma-focused cognitive

behavioral therapy, should be tailored to the type of mental health

issues one faces as a result of the abuse. “But the idea is to form a

relationship with the therapist to be able to work through the trauma

and then all the subsequent results of the trauma,” she says.

Local Studies

Based on a study about comparison of victim blaming attitudes

towards sex trafficking and sexual assault across gender and two

ethnic groups, the results of the study provided evidence that

cultural variables are important to consider when evaluating blame

attribution toward sexual violence. Notably, males were more likely

than females to blame the victim regarding both sexual assault and sex

trafficking. These results provide further evidence for the importance

of considering cultural variables within blame attribution. Adopting a

perspective of viewing humans as cultural beings – with their

thoughts, motivations and behaviors constantly being shaped by their

social context – will allow for a more comprehensive understanding of

blame attribution as a cultural phenomenon. Extending beyond blame

attribution, these results encompass an ideology of culture

influencing all aspects of a person. Thus, we are not able to detach

from our cultural selves and would benefit from wholly embracing this

notion as opposed to including it as an after-thought. Realizing the

impact of culture, specifically on our thought processes and

experiences, is one implication the results provide. Another equally

important consideration is the impact of sexual violence on society.

Sexual violence, including sexual assault and sex trafficking, is a

complex social problem with a variety of intertwined factors. Perhaps

we have moved passed blatantly overt forms of sexism in 110 the realm

of sexual violence, yet the underlying, micro aggressions still

persist. As a society, we have not reached a point where victims of

sexual violence are free from judgments and blame, components that

contribute to the culture of violence against women. Perhaps research

such as this study can contribute to the body of literature that

supports the examination of underlying factors of sexual violence.

"Victim blaming among Elderly Filipinos: A qualitative study" by

Elenita C. Pangan(2015) presents the findings of a qualitative

research on victim blaming among elderly Filipinos, a topic that has

gotten little attention in the academic literature. The author's study

was based on interviews with 15 senior Filipinos who had been

victimized, as well as 10 community leaders and service providers who

deal with the elderly. One of the study's significant results is that

victim blaming is a prevalent response to elder abuse in the

Philippines, especially when the victim is judged to have done

something socially incorrect or violated cultural standards. The study

also discovered that, regardless of the circumstances, elderly victims

are frequently blamed for their own victimization. According to the

author, victim blaming is a complicated phenomenon driven by a range

of elements such as cultural values, gender conventions, and societal

expectations. The research examines these elements in depth and their

influence on victim blaming among elderly Filipinos. Overall, this

research contributes significantly to the literature on elder abuse

and victim blaming in the Philippines. The author's qualitative

approach provides rich insights into the experiences and perspectives

of elderly Filipinos who have been victimized, as well as those who

work with this population. The study's findings emphasize the

importance of raising awareness and education about elder abuse and

victim blaming, as well as developing more comprehensive and

culturally sensitive interventions to address these issues.

“Elderly Women's Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence: A

Grounded Theory Study in the Philippines" by Kristine C. Sy relates to

victim blaming in that it questions the notion that victims of

intimate relationship violence are to blame for the harm they endure.

Victim blaming is a typical reaction to intimate partner violence in

which the victim is blamed for the violence they have witnessed, often

as a result of social views and preconceptions about gender roles and

relationships. This blaming can take various forms, such as asking why

the victim did not leave the abusive relationship or indicating that

they were somehow responsible for the violence. According to Sy's

research, elderly women in the Philippines who endure intimate partner

abuse are generally economically reliant on their spouses and may

encounter cultural attitudes that promote gender-based violence. The

study emphasizes, using a grounded theory approach, that the

experiences of older women who have suffered IPV are complex and

cannot be simplified or reduced to victim-blaming narratives. As a

result, the study addresses victim-blaming views toward older women

who endure IPV and emphasizes the need for society to acknowledge that
abuse is the abuser's duty, not the victim's. The study gives insights

on how we may better help and protect victims of IPV without blaming

them by studying the elements that contribute to IPV against older

women.