Peculiarities of psychological traumatization of descendants and witnesses of the Holodomor

Authors

  • Tetiana Hordovska Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.29038/2227-1376-2021-38-22-37

Keywords:

trauma, morality, moral trauma, collective trauma, psychological consequences, Holodomor, genocide.

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to analyze the latest scientific research on the psychological consequences of the Holodomor and their impact on mental health. Analysis and comparison of results with the concept of moral trauma as a form of transmission of traumatic experience through generations from witnesses to descendants. Methods. The study uses theoretical analysis of the literature and systematization of recent research on the trauma of Holodomor witnesses and their descendants, consistent with the definition of moral trauma, including methods of synthesis, analysis, and generalization of information. Results. A review of the literature identifies key developments in the field of research on psychological trauma of Holodomor survivors, characteristics, manifestations and mechanisms of transmission of traumatic experience. Comparison of these results with the concept of moral trauma and its key features. Conclusions. Research shows that moral trauma is often consistent with the individual and collective context, and has common features with the concept of collective and cultural trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder. However, in contrast to these concepts in the structure of moral trauma distinguish the presence of negative moral emotions, namely the feeling of guilt, fear, shame, anxiety. Moral trauma is consistent with the study of the individual consequences of traumatizing witnesses and descendants of the Holodomor, as it describes the damage to moral conscience and human values caused by subjective perceptions and experiences in an individual's experience as traumatic, as opposed to collective and cultural trauma, joint traumatic experience. Prospects for further research are a detailed theoretical study of the construct of moral trauma in the context of the psychology of genocide and an empirical study of the trauma of the descendants of Holodomor witnesses to compare and analyze the consistency of the data with the concept of moral trauma.

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Published

2021-12-20

How to Cite

Hordovska , T. (2021). Peculiarities of psychological traumatization of descendants and witnesses of the Holodomor. Psychological Prospects Journal, 38, 22-37. https://doi.org/10.29038/2227-1376-2021-38-22-37

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