Going back to Hallowell’s accounts of non-carrier fathers, there was a strong representation of the idea that transmitting a mutation to one’s children is regarded as a personal matter. It may be unintentional, but it is constructed as blameworthy. However since carriers actually view themselves as unwitting participants, those who do transmit a mutation believe [...]
Also tagged blame, intentionChapple et al . (1995) observed that carrier and non-carrier women who had attended genetic counselling felt personally responsible and blamed themselves for their children’s disabilities and impairments, and did not change their views when it was explained that their child’s disorder was caused by genetic mutations that were out of their personal control. (Hallowell)
Guilt [...]
“Non-carriers also sometimes express guilt at not sharing their families’ risk of disease, thereby demonstrating responsibility through compassion.” (Arribus-Allyson et all 2008)
Back with the guilty survivor, and now responsility is attributed to what we would normally consider to be simply a kind, humane emotion. But can compassion really be seen a form of responsible behaviour??
Survivor’s guilt, the mental condition that occurs when a person perceives themselves to have done wrong by surviving a traumatic event, was first diagnosed in the 1960s as a condition suffered by holocaust survivors. It was later observed as part of post traumatic stress related to combat, natural disasters and even work redundancies. Interestingly the [...]
Also tagged family, gene