SECTION 1
1.1 Traumatic experiences
As a result of her mother’s commitment to her marriage, Tina may experience a wide range of traumatic experiences. As a teenage girl she is predisposed to being violated by the ‘step’ male relatives that she’s living with. In this sense, she faces emotional, physical and psychological abuse at the hands of extended family (Finkerlhor & Browne; 1985). The type of foreseen traumatic experiences is mostly aggravated by Tina’s profile and situation in the family. Being a step daughter, whose mother constantly wants to make an effort to embrace the union places her in a disadvantaged angle where either one of her step family members may find her either as a threat or an accessory that can be utilised to his advantage. Looking at this scenario, one cannot rule out the huge possibility being of a sexual nature, this is due to the contemporary social behaviour within family units, where children have become ‘accessories’ to utilise for adults pleasure.
Tina’s mother and her new union could be the beginning of Tina’s worst nightmare. A chain of traumatic events could arise from