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What
Missionaries Ought to Know About ...
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What Missionaries Ought to Know
about Passive-Aggressive Behavior
Dr. Ronald Koteskey
download this as a pdf
 Suppose
this happened to a missionary. His committee report to the field
director is due this afternoon, and he still has not received John’s
data that was due a week ago. He wonders what John’s excuse will
be this time—last time he forgot when it was due, the time before that
he had not followed instructions so the data was useless, the time
before that… When John gets it in, he will probably complain about how
no one appreciates what he does, or that other people don’t have to
gather data, or that… He will probably come in angry and try to
start an argument—then return tomorrow to say that he is sorry, ask
forgiveness, and promise to do better next time.
The missionary and John have served together for nearly four years
now, and the story is always basically the same. Only the details
change. What the missionary is facing is the passive-aggressive
behavior of a colleague, something quite common among missionaries and
other Christians. Since they do not feel free to express their
dissatisfaction, such people do things that, in effect, sabotage the
project.
What is passive-aggressive behavior?
People who appear to support the requests of others but do not
perform the requested action correctly or soon enough are displaying
passive-aggressive behavior. They may even seem to be enthusiastic
about the idea, but they use overt behavior to express what they do not
want to say verbally. Rather than expressing their opposition in
words, they use procrastination, forgetfulness, and inefficiency to
avoid complying with the request.
Along with the passive resistance these people have a pattern of
negative attitudes. They may complain about feeling cheated,
unappreciated, and misunderstood as they blame their failures on others.
They may be sullen, irritable, cynical, and argumentative. Some
professionals have characterized passive-aggressive behavior as “hostile
cooperation,” “angry kindness,” or “covert assertiveness.” This behavior
appears most often in the workplace and in social situations, but it may
also occur in marriage and/or family situations.
Is it a psychological disorder?
For many years both the World Health Organization (agency of the
United Nations) and the American Psychiatric Association listed
Passive-Aggressive Personality Disorder. However, in 1994 the
American Psychiatric association removed passive-aggressive from the
list of disorders and placed it in an appendix of items for further
study.
Therefore, most nations consider it as a disorder, but mental health
professionals in the USA do not. However, even if it is not a
disorder, passive-aggressive behavior is very difficult to cope with.
The American Psychiatric Association’s manual of mental disorders
(DSM-IV) does list seven “Research criteria for passive-aggressive
personality disorder,” and a person must have at least four of these
criteria to be considered passive-aggressive.
Is it in the Bible?
Most people look at the lost (prodigal) son who returned to his
father as the focus of that story in Luke 15. However, his older
brother also had major problems. Even though he is not labeled as
“passive-aggressive,” the older son meets six of the seven DSM-IV
criteria in just three short verses.
- Resisted carrying out routine social tasks: he refused to go to
his brother’s party (v. 28).
- Complained of being unappreciated by others: his father never
gave him a party (v. 29).
- Was sullen and argumentative: he argued with his father (v. 29).
- Criticized and scorned authority: he criticized his father’s
party for the squandering son (v. 30).
- Expressed envy and resentment toward those more fortunate: he
resented that the fatted calf was killed for his brother (v. 30).
- Voiced exaggerated complaints of personal misfortune: he
had “slaved” for years (v. 29)
The only criterion he did not meet was the one saying that he
alternated between defiance and contrition!
What are the symptoms?
By definition the passive-aggressive person has (1) a pattern of
passive resistance to carrying out requested actions and (2) a pattern
of negativistic attitudes (an alternate name is negativistic personality
disorder).
As noted above, the DSM-IV criteria elaborated these two general
conditions into seven more specific criteria. The following are
even more specific passive-aggressive actions.
- Deliberate inefficiency, dawdling, laziness, inflexibility,
ignoring of others
- Procrastination, stubbornness, resisting suggestions,
disregarding instructions
- Pretending forgetfulness, putting things on the “back burner,”
making excuses
- Losing things, discovering things too late,
- Sullenness, hostility, anger, argumentativeness
- Complaining, resentment, feeling unappreciated, irritableness,
cynicism
- Blaming others, feeling cheated
- Overt sabotage, sulking
- Working poorly or slowly, being tardy or absent
- Repeatedly apologizing, asking forgiveness and promising to do
better next time—but not really changing
The list can go on and on. Whether they are conscious of it or
not, the goal is to do something that slows or prevents the action from
being done or undermines the success of others.
Who can be passive-aggressive?
Anyone who is in a relationship with you may be passive-aggressive
toward you.
- It may be someone above you, such as your field director, a
mentor, a committee chair, or an administrator in the home office.
- It may be someone below you, such as a student in your class, a
new missionary you are orienting, or your own child or adolescent.
- It may be someone at your own level, such as a fellow
missionary, a colleague where you teach, a friend, or even your
spouse.
The higher the commitment and the closer the relationship, the more
the passive-aggressive behavior will affect your life. For
example, if your spouse or teenager does not want missionary life, it
will disrupt your life more than if a student in your class or a new
missionary is unhappy.
Missionaries may show passive-aggressive behavior to avoid the stress
of confrontation. In 1983 Dorothy Gish asked 547 missionaries to
rate 65 items that cause stress, and “confronting others when necessary”
was the one rated most stressful. Sixteen years later Joan Carter
repeated the study with the same items plus some additional ones.
The 306 missionaries still placed confronting others at the top of the
list.
Passive-aggressive behavior can stop a project just like
confrontation can, but it can do so with less stress. Missionaries
who do not want to oppose a program overtly can just not get their part
done so that the project fails. After that they can apologize for
their tardiness, ask forgiveness, and they have still accomplished what
they wanted in the first place.
What can you do?
Remember that this pattern of behavior has “worked” for many years
for the passive-aggressive people. Even though their behavior has
an impact on you it is not about you. Do not take it personally.
Your goal is to create a climate of safe and open communication.
The following may help.
- Keep an open mind, avoid being defensive, and acknowledge that
some of the concerns may be legitimate.
- Be empathetic but still request more appropriate behavior.
- Concretely define what you expect, and ask the person to
paraphrase your wants.
- Do not accept, excuse, or reward poor performance.
- Tactfully challenge distortions but do not argue over them.
- Make sure that he or she understands that you care for him or
her personally and are not just seeking control.
- Remember that if you become viewed as an opponent, the
objectionable behavior is likely to increase.
Finally, if you do not succeed, do not blame yourself. If
people do not want to change, they do not. Remember that you did
not cause the passive-aggressive behavior.
What if you are passive-aggressive?
 People
who are passive-aggressive may not realize that they are engaging in a
self-defeating, objectionable behavior. The Spirit may have
revealed to you that you use this habitual and problematic behavior
yourself. If you recognize this troublesome behavior interfering
with your own work or relationships, there is much hope.
You may be able to change your passive-aggressive behavior by
“observing” yourself and making changes in your own behavior, asking God
to help.
You may want to ask a friend to help you. It is much easier for
people to recognize such behavior in others, so the observations of a
good friend may give good insights.
You may want to see a counselor to help you identify and change your
behavior. Cognitive-behavioral therapy may help you become aware
of such behavior and minimize it.
Ronald Koteskey
Member Care Consultant
GO International
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