Cite this as
Perrotta G (2021) Clinical evidence in the phenomenon of Alien Abduction. Ann Psychiatry Treatm 5(1): 107-115. DOI: 10.17352/apt.000037Copyright
© 2021 Perrotta G. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.Purpose: Starting from the classic definition of “alien abduction”, the present research, starting from the study published in 2020 on the proposed clinical classification of this particular phenomenon, is aimed at confirming the theoretical assumption of psychopathological origin.
Methods: Clinical interview, based on narrative-anamnestic and documentary evidence and the basis of the Perrotta Human Emotions Model (PHEM) concerning their emotional and perceptual-reactive experience, and administration of the battery of psychometric tests published in international scientific journals by the author of this work: 1) Perrotta Integrative Clinical Interviews (PICI-2), to investigate functional and dysfunctional personality traits; 2) Perrotta Individual Sexual Matrix Questionnaire (PSM-Q), to investigate the individual sexual matrix; 3) Perrotta Affective Dependence Questionnaire (PAD-Q), to investigate the profiles of affective and relational dependence; 4) Perrotta Human Defense Mechanisms Questionnaire (PDM-Q), to investigate the defence mechanisms of the Ego.
Results: Preliminary results from the interviews and the anamnestic form would suggest that the phenomenon of alien abductions has a greater tendency to occur in the female group, in the adult and mature group (and tends to diminish but not disappear with advancing age) and in the group geographically originating in central-northern Italy (due to lower religious influences but greater openness to the typical contents of ufological and mystery narratives). Moreover, the subsequent results would lead us to deduce with almost total certainty, concerning the selected sample, that the phenomenon of alien abductions has an absolute prevalence in the believing population concerning the existence of paranormal phenomena per se, even in the absence of objective and/or scientific evidence. It is a phenomenon that is almost completely linked (110/112, 98.2%) to a medium-low or not fully educated cultural level. Based on the PICI-2 it emerged that the primary emerging disorder is alternatively the delusional disorder, the dissociative disorder and the narcissistic disorder; followed, as secondary disorders, by the delusional disorder (if it is not considered as primary disorder), the schizoid disorder, the borderline disorder, the obsessive disorder and the psychopathic disorder. The analysis of functional traits also reported the marked dysfunctional tendency of the classes referring to self-control, sensitivity, Ego-Es comparison, emotionality, ego stability, security and relational functionality, confirming here too the marked dysfunctional tendency of the clinical population. According to the PSM-Q, almost 2/3 of the participants (73/112, 65.2%) present a dysfunctional tendency to sexual behaviour and a marked tendency to chronicle feelings of shame in avoidance behaviour or hyposexuality. Furthermore, 100% of the sample of the population surveyed report having suffered significant or serious psychological or physical abuse at a young age, or intra-parental relational imbalances, or in any case a sexual upbringing that was not open and lacking in free communication. According to the PDM-Q, 27.7% (31/112) are affected by affective dependency, with greater emphasis on types I (neurotic), VI (covert narcissist), V (borderline) and III (histrionic), in that order of descent. Finally, the PDM-Q reveals the widespread psychopathological tendency of the functional ego framework for the mechanisms of isolation, denial, regression, reactive formation, denial, projection, removal, withdrawal, instinct, repression and idealisation.
Conclusion: This research confirms the psychopathological nature of the alien abduction phenomenon, which deserves to be treated using a psychotherapeutic approach (preferably cognitive-behavioural and/or strategic) and possibly also pharmacological in serious cases, depending on the symptoms manifested and the severity of the morbid condition.
In the literature, the experience of alien abduction consists of the alleged kidnapping of human beings by extraterrestrial biological entities, using superior technologies. The information is not always clear whether these experiences are lived onboard spacecraft orbiting deep space outside the Earth’s orbit or inside specially built underground military bases. The narratives supporting this circumstance are often different, as are the medical investigations that are carried out by an unspecified specialized technical staff [1].
Generally, in the field of ufology, encounters with creatures from other worlds and mysterious aircraft follow a precise identification, according to the indications of the astrophysicist Hynek and the Bloecher’s directives [1]; in particular:
In the scientific literature there are very few works dedicated to this topic, and all the studies published are focused in various ways on psychopathological profiles, albeit with population samples too small and therefore not sufficient to sanction the statistical representativeness; however, the data are still interested and deserve attention:
1. Research focuses attention on child abuse: Six adults, who had recently experienced sudden recall of preschool memories of sexual abuse or alien abduction/visitation, underwent comprehensive neuropsychological evaluations. All experiences “emerged” when hypnosis was used in a context of sexual abuse or New Age religion and were followed by a reduction in anxiety. As a group, these subjects showed significant elevations (T greater than 70) of childhood imagery, complex partial epileptic signs, and suggestiveness. Neuropsychological data indicated right frontotemporal abnormalities and reduced access to the right parietal lobe. MMPI profiles were normal. The findings support the hypothesis that enhanced imagination due to temporal lobe lability within specific contexts may facilitate the creation of memories; they are further strengthened if there is also reduced anxiety [2].
2. Research focuses attention on sleeping disorders: It is clear that sleep is not only a global or cerebral phenomenon, but can also be a local phenomenon. This explains the fact that the primary states of being (wakefulness, NREM sleep, and REM sleep) are not necessarily mutually exclusive, and the components of these states can appear in various combinations, with fascinating clinical consequences. Examples include: sleep inertia, narcolepsy, sleep paralysis, lucid dreams, REM sleep behavior disorder, sleepwalking, sleep terrors, out-of-body experiences, and reports of alien abduction. Incomplete state declaration also has implications for consciousness - which also has fluid boundaries. Fluctuations in the degree of consciousness are likely explained by abnormalities in a “rhythm of spatial and temporal binding” that normally results in a unified conscious experience. Dysfunctional binding may play a role in anesthetic states, autism, schizophrenia, and neurodegenerative disorders. Further study of the broad spectrum of dissociated states of sleep and wakefulness that are closely related to states of consciousness and unconsciousness by basic neuroscientists, clinicians, and members of the legal profession will provide scientific, clinical, and therapeutic insights with forensic implications [3].
3. Research focuses attention on false memories: People sometimes fantasize entire complex scenarios and later define these experiences as memories of actual events rather than as imaginations. This article examines research associated with three such phenomena: past-life experiences, alien UFO contacts and abductions, and memory reports of childhood satanic ritual abuse. In each case, elicitation of fictional events is frequently associated with hypnotic procedures and structured interviews that provide strong, repeated requests for the requested experiences, and then legitimize the experiences as “real memories”. Research associated with these phenomena supports the hypothesis that recollection is reconstructive and organized in terms of current expectations and beliefs [4,5].
4. Research focuses attention on sleep paralysis: Sleep paralysis is a dissociative state that occurs primarily during waking and is characterized by alterations in motor, perceptual, emotional, and cognitive functions, such as the inability to perform voluntary movements, visual hallucinations, feelings of pressure in the chest, delusions about a frightening presence, and, in some cases, fear of imminent death. Most people experience it infrequently, but typically when sleeping in the supine position; however, paralysis is considered an illness (parasonnia) when it is recurrent and/or associated with emotional burden. Interestingly, throughout human history, different peoples have interpreted paralysis according to a supernatural view. For example, Canadian Eskimos attribute paralysis to shaman spells, which hinder the ability to move and cause hallucinations of a formless presence. In Japanese tradition, paralysis is due to a vengeful spirit that suffocates its enemies during sleep. In Nigerian culture, a female demon attacks during a dream and causes paralysis. A modern manifestation of paralysis is the reporting of “alien abductions,” experienced as an inability to move during waking associated with visual hallucinations of aliens. In all, paralysis is a significant example of how a specific biological phenomenon can be interpreted and shaped by different cultural contexts. To further explore the ethnopsychology of paralysis, in this review we present the “Pisadeira”, a Brazilian folklore character native to the southeast of the country, but also present in other regions with variant names. The Pisadeira is described as a witch with long nails who lurks on rooftops at night and stomps on the chests of those who sleep with their stomachs full. This legend is mentioned in many anthropological accounts; however, no comprehensive references can be found about the Pisadeira from the perspective of sleep science [6]. Again, sleep paralysis accompanied by hypnopompic (“waking”) hallucinations is an often frightening manifestation of the discordance between the cognitive/perceptual and motor aspects of Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep. Sleepers upon awakening become aware of an inability to move, and sometimes experience the intrusion of dream mentality into waking consciousness (e.g., seeing intruders in the bedroom). Two studies are summarized in this paper. In the first study, we evaluated 10 individuals who reported being abducted by space aliens and whose claims were linked to apparent episodes of sleep paralysis during which hypnopompic hallucinations were interpreted as alien beings. In the second study, adults reporting repressed, recovered, or ongoing memories of childhood sexual abuse more often reported sleep paralysis than a control group. Among the 31 who reported sleep paralysis, only one person linked it to memories of abuse. This person was among the six participants with recovered memory who reported sleep paralysis (i.e., 17% rate of interpreting it as related to abuse). People rely on personally plausible cultural narratives to interpret these otherwise puzzling episodes of sleep paralysis [7].
5. Research focuses attention on epileptic states and false memory: 20 male and 20 female undergraduate students were exposed singly for 20 min. to an exotic setting (partial sensory deprivation and weak, bilateral transtemporal pulsed magnetic fields) that enhances relaxation and exotic experiences. The numerical incidence of subjective experiences described as old memories, dreams, emotions, or vestibular sensations did not differ significantly between the sexes; however, women who reported a greater prevalence of preexperimental complex partial epileptic-like signs were more likely to report experiences of “old memories” (r = 0.61) while men who exhibited these signs were more likely to report dream-like (r = 0.49) experiences. Because complex partial epileptic-like signs are positively associated with suggestibility, the potential contribution of this differential gender effect to the etiology of the False Memory Syndrome requires further investigation [8].
6. Research focuses attention on childhood sexual abuse: Twelve white middle-class women who had been severely sexually abused as children by a family member were asked to provide a narrative of their abuse and discuss their subsequent remembering and forgetting of these experiences. Most claimed they had undergone periods during which they had not recalled their abuse, but also claimed that they had never forgotten their experiences at another point during the interview. Nine of the women had actively tried to forget the abusive experiences, although 8 still experienced recurrent and often relentless intrusive memories. Our findings suggest that women with continuous memories may have longer and more coherent narratives than women without continuous memories. Implications of these findings for understanding the phenomenology of memory experiences and the concept of “recovered” memories of childhood sexual abuse are discussed [9]. People sometimes report recovering long-forgotten memories of childhood sexual abuse. The memory mechanisms that lead to such reports are not well understood, and the authenticity of recovered memories has often been questioned. We identified two subgroups of individuals reporting recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse. These subgroups differed dramatically in their cognitive profiles: People who recovered memories of abuse through suggestive therapy exhibited a greater susceptibility to the construction of false memories, but showed no tendency to underestimate their prior memories. In contrast, individuals who recovered memories of abuse spontaneously exhibited a greater propensity to forget their prior memories, but did not show a greater susceptibility to false memories. This double dissociation points to the mechanisms underlying recovered memory experiences and indicates that recovered memories may sometimes be fictitious and other times authentic [10,11].
In 2020, the writer tried to trace in specialized research all possible hypotheses that would explain the phenomena under consideration [12]. In particular, the following conclusions were reached [13-49]:
1. There is no documented evidence in the academic and scientific field about the chemical-physical investigations carried out on the findings extrapolated from humans, although there are suggestive reports from accredited laboratories about the mysterious origin of the same objects, with a strong indication for an extraterrestrial origin.
2. The patients who report having experienced alien abductions have a greater attraction and interest in paranormal phenomena and have a history of post-traumatic episodes and sleep paralysis (and disturbances), all events capable of generating false memories and episodes hallucinators, as in the hypothesis of post-operative awakening.
3. The strong tendency for patients to dissociate is connected with altered functionality of the temporal lobes.
4. The alien abductions, abuses with a satanic background and the identities of past lives seem connected to the reconstruction of false memories, typical in patients with high imagination and fantasy, connected to a hyperactivity of the upper longitudinal fasciculus and an altered functionality of the frontal lobe, of the prefrontal cortical regions, the hippocampal and vascular deficits (in particular, those referring to the anterior artery in the Willis’s Polygon), in situations of high stress perceived by the patient.
5. The best treatment suggested in the scientific literature is the one combined between psychotherapy (strategic or cognitive-behavioural) and psychopharmacology (especially in the presence of evident clinical psychotic signs or disorders that need a pharmacological approach to stabilize the patient before continuing or setting up psychotherapy targeted and centred on the needs and needs specifically identified during the anamnesis). In the presence of confirmed dissociative episodes or rich production of false memories, it is not recommended to make use of hypnosis and suggestive techniques, which could incentivize or strengthen this patient’s interpretation of reality.
6. The phenomenon of alien abduction, in the absence of scientific evidence, must be considered to have a psychopathological matrix. Therefore, a scale of severity of symptoms is identified (Perrotta Alien Abduction Scale, PAAS):
a) Level 1: Voluntary mystification.
b) Level 2: Delusions or hallucinations determined by the use of substances capable of altering the state of consciousness or by morbid neurological forms (such as epilepsy, tumours, vasculopathy, vascular disorders, trauma).
c) Level 3: False memories connected to post-traumatic stressful events, with pathologically oriented personality traits.
d) Level 4: Altered state caused by the obsessive idea of abduction, in comorbidity with sleep disturbances and pathologically oriented personality traits.
e) Level 5: Altered state caused by the dissociative disorder.
f) Level 6: Altered state caused by eccentric personality profiles (cluster B, DSM-V; cluster B, PICI-2).
g) Level 7: Altered state caused by psychotic personality profiles (cluster A, DSM-V; cluster C, PICI-2).
This theoretical approach appears, in the writer’s opinion, to be complete and detailed, and will therefore be used in this research work as an evaluation scale concerning the symptoms manifested by the patients, part of the selected population.
The methods used are two: 1) Clinical interview, based on narrative-anamnestic and documentary evidence and the basis of the Perrotta Human Emotions Model (PHEM) concerning their emotional and perceptual-reactive experience; 2) Administration of the battery of psychometric tests published in international scientific journals by the author of this work: a) Perrotta Integrative Clinical Interviews (PICI-2), to investigate functional and dysfunctional personality traits; b) Perrotta Individual Sexual Matrix Questionnaire (PSM-Q), to investigate individual sexual matrix; c) Perrotta Affective Dependence Questionnaire (PAD-Q), to investigate affective and relational dependence profiles; d) Perrotta Human Defense Mechanisms Questionnaire (PDM-Q), to investigate ego defence mechanisms.
The phases of the research were divided as follows:
The requirements decided for the selection of the sample population are:
1) Age between 18 years and 67 years, healthy and robust constitution and in the absence of pathological symptoms: this choice is oriented to exclude underage subjects because not identified during the research of the sample population and subjects of mature or elderly age to avoid possible implications with neurodegenerative medical conditions and/or neurovascular.
2) Italian nationality, with Italian ancestors in the last two generations: this choice is oriented in this sense to avoid cultural contaminations determined by popular beliefs different from the Christian-Catholic cult.
3) Precocious and manifest physical and psychic symptoms attributable to the state of alien abduction (altered perception of time with memory lapses, lucid dreams, bodily paralysis with fully or partially preserved state of consciousness, bodily signs and scars of unknown origin, perception of feeling observed or spied on, perceptions of metallic or distorted sounds in the absence of objective explanations, persistent insomnia, episodes of electromagnetic alteration to equipment present near the subject, physical fatigue, presence of bodily implants of unknown origin).
4) Declaration of alien possession based on the subjective experience, about the testimonies of family members.
5) Absence of psychopathological diagnosis or neurological and neurodegenerative disorder.
The selected setting, taking into account the protracted pandemic period (already in progress since the beginning of the present research), is the online platform via Skype and Video call Whatsapp, both for the clinical interview and for the administration.
The present research work was carried out from March 2018 to September 2021. All participants were guaranteed anonymity and the ethical requirements of the Declaration of Helsinki are met.
Since the research is not financed by anyone, it is free of conflicts of interest.
The selected population clinical sample, which meets the requirements, is 112 participants, divided into five groups Tables 1,2.
After the selection of the chosen population sample (first stage), we proceeded with the clinical interviews (second stage), from which the first significant data emerged:
1) Considering the total population sample (112/112), one immediately notices the good disparity between the populousness of the overall female sample (67/112) compared to the male sample (45/112). Preliminary results from the interviews and the anamnestic form would suggest that the phenomenon of alien abductions has a greater tendency to occur in the female group, in the adult and mature group (and tends to diminish but not disappear with advancing age) and in the group geographically originating in central-northern Italy (due to lower religious influences but greater openness to the typical contents of ufological and mystery narratives). Moreover, the subsequent results would lead us to deduce with almost total certainty, concerning the selected sample, that the phenomenon of alien abductions has an absolute prevalence in the believing population concerning the existence of paranormal phenomena per se, even in the absence of objective and/or scientific evidence. It is a phenomenon almost completely linked (110/112, 98.2%) to a medium-low or not fully educated cultural level.
2) Also during the first clinical interview, other interesting data emerged that further strengthened the initial hypothesis:
a) All the proposed narratives presented fantastic and phantasmal elements, unsupported by evidentiary evidence such as descriptive testimonies, photo-video-audio material and peculiar physical signs; 91/112 (81.2%) claimed to possess unexplained bodily scars, without however supporting these claims with any specific clinical or material evidence.
b) At the clinical interviews, 48/112 (42.8%) of the sample presented markedly psychotic symptoms (mainly paranoid, delusional, dissociative and schizophrenic) but denied ever having received a psychiatric diagnosis or having ever taken psychotropic drugs or having undergone psychotherapy.
3) Using, during the interview, the strategic language and the Perrotta Human Emotions Model (PHEM), it emerged that the totality of the selected population sample presents a full distress orientation, facilitating feelings such as guilt, shame, anger, fear and disappointment, in the presence of past (childhood) and current (interpersonal and work) family traumas. In fact, without the administration of questionnaires, it is evident that the impairment of perception in the plane of reality involves per se the manifestation of paranormal episodes described by patients, in the presence of a probable personality disorder to be identified with the help of psychodiagnostic tools.
The third stage of the research focused on the administration of the battery of questionnaires and these revealed the following results [50-108].
1) Administration of the Perrotta Integrative Clinical Interviews (PICI-2): Concerning the analysis of the dysfunctional traits (PICI-2TA), the primary disorder that emerged with at least 5 traits is delusional disorder (60/112, 53.6%), dissociative disorder (36/112, 32.1%) and narcissistic disorder (18/112, 16%); Secondary disorders include delusional disorder (if not considered as a primary disorder, 65/112, 58%), schizoid disorder (21/112, 18.8%), borderline disorder (10/112, 8.9%), obsessive disorder (8/112, 7.1%) and psychopathic disorder (5/112, 4.5%). A separate category that deserves specific mention is schizophrenic disorder, which was first diagnosed in 2/112 (1.8%) of the population sample (1 woman and 1 man, both in the 38-47 age group) after the administration of the PICI-2, confirmed by the psychiatric examination proposed subsequently. In 108/112 (96.4%) the following disorders emerged as comorbidities: ADHD (in the population under 27 years of age), body dysmorphism, ICT disorder, sleep disorders, eating disorders, anxiety and mood disorders, paraphiliac disorders and behavioural addictions (especially technology and internet addiction). The concrete suicide risk emerged in 23/112 cases (20.5%), while the presumed risk or request for attention emerged in 48/112 (42.8%). Equally interesting is the cause/concause “epilepsy”: 24/112 (21.4%) report being on anti-epileptic therapy, while 71/112 (63.4%) report having had in their lives at least one episode referable to epilepsy and/or a syncopal state of vasovagal origin. On the other hand, in the analysis of functional traits (PICI-2FT), it emerged that the most compromised classes, because they tended to be dysfunctional (with values of 0 or 4), were those referring to self-control, sensitivity, action, Ego-ID comparison, emotionality, ego stability, security and relational functionality, confirming here too the marked dysfunctional tendency of the clinical population. These findings place the clinical group under examination in correlation with the clinical group of subjects presumably affected by demonic possession. The preference for the administration of the PICI-2 concerning other widely validated and used psychometric tests, such as the MMPI-2, was for reasons of expediency: in fact, previous research has demonstrated the efficacy and efficiency, sometimes better indicated, of the PICI-2 concerning the MMPI-2, in terms of performance and completeness of diagnosis.
2) Administration of the Perrotta Individual Sexual Matrix Questionnaire (PSM-Q): The PSM questionnaires demonstrated that almost 2/3 of the participants (73/112, 65.2%) show a dysfunctional tendency towards sexual behaviour and a marked tendency to chronicle feelings of shame in avoidance behaviour or hyposexuality. Furthermore, 100% (112/112) of the sample of the population interviewed reported having suffered significant or serious psychological or physical abuse at a young age, or intra-parental relational imbalances, or in any case a sexual upbringing that was not open and lacking in free communication.
3) Administration of the Perrotta Affective Dependence Questionnaire (PAD-Q): According to the PDM-Q, 27.7% (31/112) are affected by affective dependency, with greater emphasis on types I (neurotic), VI (covert narcissist), V (borderline) and III (histrionic), in this descending order.
4) Administration of the Perrotta Human Defense Mechanisms Questionnaire (PDM-Q): The PDM-Q reveals the widespread psychopathological tendency of the functional framework of the Ego, in the totality of the population sample (112/112) for the mechanisms of isolation, denial, regression, reactive formation, denial, projection, removal, withdrawal, instinct, repression and idealisation.
The last two steps served to reorder the results, and then draw conclusions. In particular:
1) Results obtained by Clinical interview: Preliminary results from the interviews and the anamnestic form would suggest that the phenomenon of alien abductions has a greater tendency to occur in the female group, in the adult and mature group (and tends to diminish but not disappear with advancing age) and in the group geographically originating in central-northern Italy (due to lower religious influences but greater openness to the typical contents of ufological and mystery narratives). Moreover, the subsequent results would lead us to deduce with almost total certainty, concerning the selected sample, that the phenomenon of alien abductions has an absolute prevalence in the believing population concerning the existence of paranormal phenomena per se, even in the absence of objective and/or scientific evidence. It is a phenomenon almost completely linked (110/112, 98.2%) to a medium-low or not fully educated cultural level.
2) Results were obtained by Perrotta Integrative Clinical Interviews (PICI-2): Based on the PICI-2 it emerged that the primary emerging disorder is alternately delusional disorder, dissociative disorder and narcissistic disorder; followed, as secondary disorders, by delusional disorder (if not considered as primary disorder), schizoid disorder, borderline disorder, obsessive disorder and psychopathic disorder. Also, the analysis of functional traits reported the marked dysfunctional tendency of the classes referring to self-control, sensitivity, Ego-Es comparison, emotionality, ego stability, security and relational functionality, confirming here the marked dysfunctional tendency of the clinical population.
3) Results were obtained by Perrotta Individual Sexual Matrix Questionnaire (PSM-Q): According to the PSM-Q, almost 2/3 of the participants (73/112, 65.2%) show a dysfunctional tendency towards sexual behaviour and a marked tendency to chronicle feelings of shame into avoidance behaviour or hyposexuality. Again, 100% of the sample of the population surveyed report having suffered significant or serious psychological or physical abuse at a young age, or intra-parental relational imbalances, or in any case a sexual upbringing that was not open and lacking in free communication.
4) Results were obtained by Perrotta Affective Dependence Questionnaire (PAD-Q): According to the PDM-Q, 27.7% (31/112) are affected by affective dependency, with greater emphasis on types I (neurotic), VI (covert narcissist), V (borderline) and III (histrionic), in this descending order.
5) Results were obtained by Perrotta Human Defense Mechanisms Questionnaire (PDM-Q): The PDM-Q reveals the widespread psychopathological tendency of the functional ego framework for the mechanisms of isolation, denial, regression, reactive formation, denial, projection, removal, withdrawal, instinct, repression and idealisation.
In conclusion, this research confirms the psychopathological nature of the alien abduction phenomenon, which deserves to be treated using a psychotherapeutic approach (preferably cognitive-behavioural and/or strategic) [109] and possibly also pharmacological in serious cases, depending on the symptoms manifested and the severity of the morbid condition.
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