Martyr complex 2197851 215292164 2008-05-27T15:46:41Z DOI bot 6652755 Citation maintenance. You can [[WP:DOI|use this bot]] yourself! Please [[User:DOI_bot/bugs|report any bugs]]. In [[psychology]], a person who has a '''martyr complex''' desires the feeling of being a [[martyr]] for its own sake, seeking out suffering or persecution because it feeds a psychological need. In some cases, this results from the belief that the martyr has been singled out for [[persecution]] due to exceptional ability or integrity.<ref>{{cite journal |title=What Are Modern Martyrs Worth? |author=Davis, Sheldon E. |journal=Peabody Journal of Education |volume=23 |issue=2 |date=Sep 1945 |pages=67–68}}</ref> [[Theologian]] Paul Johnson considers such beliefs a topic of concern for the mental health of clergy.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The emotional health of the clergy |author=Johnson, Paul E. |journal=Journal of Religion and Health |volume=9 |issue=1 |date=Jan 1970 |pages=50–50}}</ref> Other martyr complexes involve willful suffering in the name of love or duty. This has been observed in women, especially in poor families, in [[codependant]] or [[abusive]] relationships.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Husbands and Wives in a Mexican Village: A Study of Role Conflict |author=Lewis, Oscar |journal=American Anthropologist |volume=51 |issue=4 |date=Oct-Dec 1949 |pages=602–610 |doi=10.1525/aa.1949.51.4.02a00050}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |title=The Poor Vs. the Non-poor: an Ethnic and Metropolitan-Nonmetropolitan Comparison |author=Kutner, Nancy G. |journal=The Sociological Quarterly |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=250–263 |date=Mar 1975 |doi=10.1111/j.1533-8525.1975.tb00943.x}}</ref> It has also been described as a facet of [[Jewish-American]] [[folklore]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=The J. A. P. and the J. A. M. in American Jokelore |author=Dundes, Alan |journal=The Journal of American Folklore |volume=98 |issue=390 |pages=456–475 |date=Oct-Dec 1985 |doi=10.2307/540367}}</ref> The desire for martyrdom is sometimes considered a form of [[masochism]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Masochism |author=Seligman, David B. |journal=Australasian Journal of Philosophy |volume=48 |issue=1 |pages=67–75 |date=May 1970 |doi=10.1080/00048407012341471}}</ref> Allan Berger, however, described it as one of several patterns of "pain/suffering seeking behavior", including [[asceticism]] and [[penance]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Choosing to Suffer: Reflections on an Enigma |author=Berger, Allen S. |journal=Journal of Religion and Health |volume=42 |issue=3 |pages=251–255 |date=Sep 2003 |doi=10.1023/A:1024843702805}}</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} [[Category:Popular psychology]] {{psych-stub}}