419
Where there is identity-diffusion there is a wishing that one’s parents
had been different, a feeling of shame in connection with one’s family.
The feeling of being a non-person is investigated in Statements 4
and 39.
*
24.31 (a) Ilypothesis
It was hypothesized that, given the exclusion of Aborigines
from the theoretical framework of multi-culturalism and the history
of rejection of the race by whites, Aborigines would support state-
ments expressing the feeling of being a non-person.
24.31 (b)
TABLE 38
Comparison of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal response
to Statements 4 and 39 - feeling of being a non-person
Statement
Agree . Not r..
°. , Agree Disagree
strongly b sure
Disagree-Majority
strongly support
4. Sometimes I feel like
I don’t exist - that I
don’t matter to anyone
Aboriginal response(N=93) 4.4 25.6 23.3
Non-Aboriginal ɪ. ɪ
response (N=289)
29.3 23.9
(disagree)
35.6 11.1 46.7
23.9 8.8 43.4
(agree)
39. I don't really
feel anyone thinks
I’m important. No-
one would really
miss me
Aboriginal response
Non-Aboriginal
response
(disagree)
5.5 4.4 24.2 53.8 12.1 65.9
7.6 17.9 24.1 41.9 8.6 50.5
24.3 (c) Discussion
The responses to Statement 39 (65.9 per cent of Aborigines