THE EFFECTS OF ABUSE ON PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT IN TESS STEVENS’ SOLD: A PSYCHOLOGY OF LITERATURE STUDY

Abstract

This research aims to find the abuses experienced by Tess Stevens, the causes of the abuses, the effects of the abuses, and the effects of the abuses on Tess’ personality development in the autobiography of Sold. This research is a qualitative research and applied content analysis method to analyze the data. The data was analyzed using Erikson’s psychosocial theory of personality development and the theories of abuse by several scholars. The findings of the research show that there are four types of abuses experienced by Tess: psychological abuse, sexual abuse, neglect, and physical abuse. She experiences these abuses because she lives in a brothel, a place where crimes frequently occur. Besides her mother who usually abuses her, other people who visits the brothel and the customers of the brothels also abuses her. Then, there are four causes of the abuses: gender inequality, poverty, abuser’s past experience, and parent’s divorce. Since Tess is a female who is vulnerable, she often receives the abuses. The abuses which she receives are also caused by the low economic and social condition of her mother and her mother’s experience of being abused. These condition and mother’s past experience lead her to be abusive. Next, there are four effects of the abuses: genophobia, juvenile delinquency and adult crime, physical wound in certain area of the body, and difficulties in socializing. Due to the abuses she receives, Tess has problems in trusting others which leads her to have socializing problems and become traumatic of the abuses. The abuses and neglects she receive also caused her to have physical damage and have moral problems such as being involve in crimes. Finally, there are four effects of the abuses on Tess’ personality development: inferiority, role confusion, isolation, and generativity. Although the abuses negatively affect her personality development at her school age until young adulthood, she manages to develop generativity at her adulthood, a positive quality in personality development.