Etiology and Treatment of the Passive Male

This paper will deal with the etiology and treatment of passivity in males, with special emphasis upon the manner in which such males relate to women. The present study confirms the well-known fact that adequate patterns of behavior toward women are almost totally lacking in passive males. The reasons for this and the methods used in group psychotherapy to correct it will be described in detail. of special significance was the effect of the women in the group upon the development in such males of more aggressive types of masculine behavior and a new capacity for self-expression.

The group process is unique in that it provides an opportunity for such a patient to verbalize his anxieties about himself as a male in the presence of members of the opposite sex, while at the same time his defenses against women are being analyzed.

The observations upon which the preceding conclusions are based were secured during the treatment of 175 patients with analytically oriented group psychotherapy. The groups consisted of from six to nine patients, both sexes being present in approximately equal numbers. No attempt was made to keep the groups uniform as to age, the variations being from 20 to 54. The group sessions lasted from one-and-one-half to two hours and the groups met once or twice a week. All of the patients were seen in individual analytic sessions once or twice a week for from one month to two years prior to introduction into the groups. Following this initial period of individual treatment, approximately one-third of the patients continued with one individual analytic session a week in addition to group therapy. The rest were seen exclusively in the groups except in times of crisis. These studies were begun ten years ago and have been in continuous progress since that time.

Definition of Passivity

For the purposes of this paper, a passive male is one who is unable to express or freely act upon his own feelings, desires, and beliefs to the extent that he is aware of th