Are torture survivors more resilient and develop higher PTG, than nontortured refugees?: The role of will to exist, live, and survive: A replication and extension.

Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, Vol 29(4), Nov 2023, 420-425; doi:10.1037/pac0000639One study found that torture survivors are more resilient and develop higher posttraumatic growth (PTG) than nontortured refugees and suggested that this is due to their higher group identity salience. Will to exist, live, survive, and fight (WTELS-F) is intimately related to identity salience. The present study aims to check the replicability of these earlier counterintuitive findings and if potentially higher WTELS-F in torture survivors explains these differences. Using a sample of 891 internally displaced Syrians (461 were torture survivors) and measures for resilience, social support, PTG, and WTELS-F, we analyzed the differences between tortured and nontortured in the measured variables. We used structural equation modeling to check if torture predicts higher WTELS-F that mediates a higher resilience and PTG in torture survivors. Results replicated the earlier findings. Torture predicts higher WTELS-F that mediated its effects on resilience and PTG in torture survivors. The clinical implications of the results were briefly discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)
Source: Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Source Type: research