TY - JOUR
T1 - Who gets blamed after a collective tragedy? the role of distress, identification with victims, and time
AU - Wayment, Heidi A.
AU - Barger, Steven D.
AU - Lauren, Woodward Tolle
AU - O'Mara, Erin M.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank the following undergraduate students for their invaluable help with data collection and entry: Laura Brandenberger, Andrea Cordova, Glenda Cruz, Orli Griver, Megan Hardman, Merle Jaffe, Violetta Lopez, Joe Milunas, Karina Sokol, and Phaedra Sova. This research was supported by National Science Foundation SGER Award 0202652 and an intramural grant from Northern Arizona University to the first author.
PY - 2010/11
Y1 - 2010/11
N2 - Belief in a just world theory (BJWT) restoration strategies were longitudinally examined after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Analyses examined the influence of terrorism-related distress, identification with victims, and the passage of time on levels of group- and individual-level blame. Initial levels of distress were associated with less blaming of the U.S. (group-level blame) but positively related to derogating victim compensation 5 months later. Psychological distancing from the victims increased individual-level blame, while prolonged identification with victims appeared to dampen this response. These results extend our understanding of BJWT by showing the importance of temporal variation in justice-restoring strategies in a dramatic real-world loss.
AB - Belief in a just world theory (BJWT) restoration strategies were longitudinally examined after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Analyses examined the influence of terrorism-related distress, identification with victims, and the passage of time on levels of group- and individual-level blame. Initial levels of distress were associated with less blaming of the U.S. (group-level blame) but positively related to derogating victim compensation 5 months later. Psychological distancing from the victims increased individual-level blame, while prolonged identification with victims appeared to dampen this response. These results extend our understanding of BJWT by showing the importance of temporal variation in justice-restoring strategies in a dramatic real-world loss.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=78149375876&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=78149375876&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/15325024.2010.508367
DO - 10.1080/15325024.2010.508367
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:78149375876
SN - 1532-5024
VL - 15
SP - 481
EP - 497
JO - Journal of Loss and Trauma
JF - Journal of Loss and Trauma
IS - 6
ER -