good will hunting

The Effects of Child Abuse on Young Adults Josh Brown

An inferiority complex and posttraumatic stress disorder, two symptoms usually associated with early child abuse, will often cause the victim to draw back from social settings and only express their emotions through violence and anger (unknown, 1998). As a mean of studying these effects, watch the movie Good Will Hunting, in particular take a look at the main character, Will Hunting. Through an examination of Will’s background, it becomes clear that his history of child abuse caused Will to develop posttraumatic stress disorder, thereby inhibiting his ability to build relationships with others as well as function normally in everyday life.

For years, psychologists have speculated about the role child abuse plays in mental development and everyday behavior as an adult. Child psychologists believe that child abuse causes a much higher level of psychological disturbance such as violence, depression, and drug abuse (Takayama, Wolfe, & Coulter, 1998). A study, conducted by Kaplan (1998), found that children abused at a young age had a higher chance to develop mental problems as well as acquire habits such as smoking and drug abuse (956). Another study, conducted by Cathy Widom (1999), found that abused children have a 1.75 times higher chance of developing posttraumatic stress disorder than non-abused children (1223). Posttraumatic stress disorder is caused by traumatic events that trigger feelings of intense horror or fear (Ansbacher, 1985). Symptoms usually include, but are not limited to, withdrawal from social settings and unprovoked outbursts of anger and violence (unknown, 1998). With the development of posttraumatic stress disorder abused children also increase their chances of developing an inferiority complex, which shares the same symptoms as posttraumatic stress disorder, which would explain why the two seemingly go together (Ansbacher, 1985).

The movie Good Will Hunting paints a fairly accurate picture of the life of an abused orphan (Maynard, 1997). The movie’s success is partly due to the emotions conjured up by the main character, Will Hunting, and his painful past (Kong, 1997). The symptoms associated with posttraumatic stress disorder and an inferiority complex are revealed immediately. Growing up as an orphan, everyday of Will’s life was a struggle. At one point in the movie Will reveals a scar that he carries from a stab wound inflicted by his foster parent. Surely such a traumatic experience at any age, and especially at a young age, would be enough to cause one to develop posttraumatic stress disorder and an inferiority complex. It’s at this point that Will’s actions in the movie begin to make a little more sense. For instance Will only keeps a small circle of friends, to be exact, three. All three of these friends have known Will since he was a child. Since his early experiences, Will has thwarted any attempt made by anyone else to get close to him. As I mentioned earlier, withdrawal from social settings is a common characteristic of both posttraumatic stress disorder and an inferiority complex (unknown, 1998). This is not the only time Will exhibits this tendency. Later on in the movie Will develops a relationship with a girl named Skylar. At first everything seems fine, but when things start to get close and she asks him to go to California with her, he refuses and looks her straight in the face and tells her he doesn’t love her, when it’s obvious he has feelings for her. Once again Will withdraws, scared that if he allows anyone to get close, he could be hurt again.

Another symptom of PTSD and an inferiority complex that Will frequently exhibits is the unprovoked outbursts of anger. Probably the most notable of these would have to be when Skylar asks him to go with her. Will becomes enraged. Shouting and yelling Will seems to have snapped. At one point he even grabs Skylar by the throat and pins her against the wall. Clearly Will has lost control at this point. Skylar merely asked him if he would come to California and he explodes. At this point the audience is sure that Will has some sort of problem. While some of the other occurrences could be explained, this last outburst definitely shows some signs of PTSD and inferiority complex. [click here to view scene]

There are several ways to go about treating posttraumatic stress disorder patients. The conventional method is for the patient to undergo psychotherapy, but antidepressant drugs are often used as well (unknown, 1998). The method used on Will is psychotherapy. The goal in undergoing psychotherapy is to move the victim through the grieving process (1). Often times PTSD victims are stuck in one stage after their traumatic event, leaving them in a mild state of shock, which is what leads to their social withdrawal as well as their violent outbursts (Widom, 1999). The most difficult decision in determining how to go about treatment is determining how to move the victim through the grieving process. This point comes across clearly in watching several therapists attempt to help Will. Will has spent his entire life pushing others away and he has no problem doing it to the first couple of therapists he sees. Finally, his last therapist figures out that Will needs to understand that the events he encountered as a child were not his fault and that he doesn’t have to hold himself accountable. The point at which Will realizes this is when his therapist, in the last session, repeatedly says, "it’s not your fault" [click here to view scene]. At first Will just continues to push the therapist away, but he finally gives in and begins to cry. This is the point when Will finally understands that he doesn’t have to be afraid anymore. What happened before is old news and nothing can be done about that. The next step in Will’s treatment would probably be to go and set things right with Skylar, which is what he is heading off to do when the movie ends.

While Good Will Hunting, has a good psychological basis there are several weak points in the development and diagnosis of Will Hunting. The characteristics exhibited by Will are symptoms of PTSD and inferiority complex. But, they are not determining factors. Will could have many psychological problems such as fear of abandonment, he could have some intimacy problems, or an assortment of other psychological problems could be diagnosed. For example, while Will does show signs of social withdrawal, he still partakes in quite a bit of conversation. Most victims of PTSD or inferiority complex don’t talk as much as Will does. So, while PTSD and inferiority complex have the strongest indications, you could make an argument for an assortment of diseases.

Child abuse is a subject that sadly affects many people to say the least. While Will has a rough child hood and even struggles through his early adulthood, he does get treatment. Usually one of the hardest parts in overcoming psychological problems is realizing you have a problem and getting help. Hopefully, by taking a look at Good Will Hunting some of the symptoms and early indications of PTSD are a little clearer and will enable someone to get help before the problems get out of hand. In Will Hunting’s case it took some help from an outside source to get help. Had he not gotten help who knows where he could have ended up. This is often times the case in the lives of abused children, without help and intervention they can lead troubled lives. However, with proper intervention and treatment they can go on to lead a normal productive life.

References

Ansbacher, H.L. (1985). The significance of Alfred Adler for the concept of narcissism. American Journal of Psychiatry, 142, 203-207.

Ansbacher compares and contrasts Adler’s theory of masculine protests and Freud’s theory of narcissism. The paper starts of with Adler’s theory of masculine protest, and then discusses Freud’s response to Adler’s theory, which is based on narcissism. Narcissism is a description of one’s self-concept. However, many of today’s philosopher’s feel that narcissism is to broad a term and should be narrowed down to only one meaning. Then towards the end of the paper Ansbacher describes Adler’s theory of inferiority complex.

Damon, M., & Affleck, B.(1997). Good Will Hunting. Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, & Robin Williams. Miramax.

Grilo, C., Sanislow, C., Fehon, D., Martino, S., McGlahsan, T. (1999). Psychological and behavioral functioning in adolescent psychiatric inpatients who report histories of childhood abuse. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156, (4), 538.

Grilo discusses the results of a recent experiment conducted by him and his colleagues. Grilo and his colleagues compiled a survey based on the results they found by gathering a group of 322 half of whom had been and abused, and of course half who hadn’t. The groups were then given several tests to determine if the groups had any type of psychological disturbances. The results proved just what the researchers suspected. Children with a history of severe child abuse scored much higher, indicating that child abuse causes children to have a much higher level of psychological disturbance such as violence, depression, and drug abuse. Hobson, L. (1998). Hunting scores big: feel good drama will likely earn oscar nods. Jam Movie Reviews.[online], Hobson basically gives his opinions of the movie while explaining the plot as well. He starts by discussing all the problems Affleck and Damon encountered in getting the movie produced. Hobson makes reference to Rocky, which produced under the same circumstances went on to earn Stallone an Oscar for best picture. Hobson feels that Good Will Hunting has the potential to do the same for Damon. He then proceeds to describe the plot. He does not go into much detail, but rather gives a brief synopsis. He does, however, go as far as to discuss some of the potential psychiatric problems that Will faces. Hobson states that Will has a temper problem as well as an inferiority complex. He then talks about Damon’s performance in the film and ends by giving his opinion that the movie is good and will probably do well at the box office. Kaplan, S. J., Pelcovitz, D., Salzinger, S., Weiner, M., Mandel, F.S., Lesser, M.L., & Labruna, V.E. (1998). Adolescent physical abuse: risk for adolescent psychiatric disorders. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 155 (7), 954-959. Kaplan describes the results of a recent experiment conducted by her and her colleagues. The researchers took a group of 99 families with a record of abuse and matched them with a group of families without a record of abuse. Both groups were equal in race, class, and age. The two groups were then interviewed and evaluated. The results showed that the children in the abused homes were more likely to develop problems such as depression and schizophrenia. Kong, S. (1997). Good will hunting. Boiledmovies. [online] Kong gives an in depth review of Good Will Hunting, incorporating a good deal of detail without giving away too much about the movie. Kong felt that the relationships between Will and his girlfriend, Skylar, as well as his best friends, were underdeveloped. Williams and Damon each did a brilliant job of portraying their respective characters. That along with the emotionally moving scenes combine to make Good Will Hunting one of the best movies of the year. Maynard, K. (1997). Good will hunting. Mr Showbiz. [online] Maynard summarizes the movie and gives his opinion of how good the movie could be. Maynard starts off with a brief plot summary. However, he avoids going into great detail about the plot, except the relationship between McGuire and Hunting. Maynard gives a short profile of each main character and discusses their importance to the film as a whole. Maynard states that Damon and Williams both do a good job of playing their respective roles and that because of their acting capabilities the movie has great potential. While Maynard avoids many of the psychological issues in the film, he does briefly touch on the topic of Will being an orphan and how that has affected his interaction with others. Takayama, J.I., Wolfe, E., & Coulter, K.P. (1998). Relationships between reason for Placement and medical findings among children in foster care. Pediatrics, 101, 201-207. Takayama and his fellow colleagues conducted an experiment to determine if there was any correlation between the reasons children were placed into foster care and their current medical records. The scientists first went through and looked for records of children being placed into foster care. They then looked at their current medical records. Researchers found that the main reason for children being placed into foster care was because they were physically abused or neglected. Widom, C. (1999). Posttraumatic stress disorder in abused and neglected children grown Grown up. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156(8), 1223. Widom discusses the findings of a recent study conducted by her and her colleagues. Researchers went through and looked at records of child abuse from 1967-1971. They then found those children, who are adults now, and interviewed them. After being interviewed the subjects also underwent various tests. The experiment concluded that abused children are more likely to develop posttraumatic stress disorder, as well as have criminal records. Unknown (1998). Posttraumatic stress disorder. Onhealth. [online] The article is a brief synopsis of everything pertaining to posttraumatic stress disorder. It starts by giving the causes and symptoms and then goes into possible treatments. Posttraumatic stress disorder usually stems from an early childhood traumatic event. Victims are usually withdrawn and can often times lash out in violence and anger. Treatment usually consists of psychotherapy and antidepressant drugs. Some severe cases may also call for massages and eye movement therapy.

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