Social Psychological and Personality Science
2019

Exposure to Wartime Trauma Decreases Positive Emotions and Altruism Toward Rival Out-Groups (But Not Nonrival Out-Groups): A Survey Experiment in a Field Setting Among Syrian Refugees (Article)

Hall J.* , Kahn D.T.
  • a Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University, Sweden
  • b Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC) Herzliya, Israel, Department of Psychology, Lund University, Sweden

Abstract

A survey experiment, carried out in a field setting among Sunni Arab Syrian refugees (N = 2,479), examined the effect of exposure to wartime trauma, ethnoreligious group affiliation, and degree of hostility of intergroup relations on altruism and positive emotional regard. The results showed that in-group targets were met with more positive emotional regard and altruism than relatively neutral out-group targets, which in turn were met with more positive emotional regard and altruism than individuals from a hostile out-group. These tendencies were elevated among participants with a high degree of exposure to wartime trauma. Emotions mediated the effect of ethnoreligious group affiliation on altruism, and this mediating effect was moderated by exposure to wartime trauma. © The Author(s) 2019.

Author Keywords

Altruism Exposure to trauma welfare trade-off ratio intergroup conflict emotions

Index Keywords

[No Keywords available]
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85074414610&doi=10.1177%2f1948550619876631&partnerID=40&md5=f3fbc49460571e1f58637f79aa9f01c1
DOI: 10.1177/1948550619876631
ISSN: 19485506
Original Language: English