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The links between trauma, self-hate and life meaning among justice-involved individuals
Sat, September 6, 9:30 to 10:45am, Communications Building (CN), CN 2115Abstract
Research has demonstrated the role of trauma on negative psychological outcomes, although the factors influencing one's sense of life meaning, particularly within justice-involved populations, remain insufficiently explored. This study thus examines the relationships among post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, disturbances in self-organization (DSO), self-hate (SH), and the search for life meaning (SfLM) in justice-involved individuals. The study sample consisted of 117 justice-involved men, ranging in age from 21 to 73 years (M = 41.49, SD = 12.05), drawn from correctional institutions in Italy. Participants completed several psychological assessments, including the International Trauma Questionnaire (ITQ) to measure PTSD and DSO, the Hated Self Subscale from the Forms of Self-Criticizing/Attacking and Self-Reassuring Scale (FSCRS) to assess SH, and the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ) to evaluate SfLM. Statistical analysis revealed notable correlations: trauma was associated with SH (r = .46, p < .001) and SfLM (r = .30, p < .001), while complex trauma showed significant links to SH (r = .54, p < .001) and SfLM (r = .34, p < .001). Additionally, SH and SfLM were correlated (r = .22, p < .02). These findings offer initial evidence of the intricate relationships between trauma, SH, and SfLM among justice-involved individuals. The identification of SH as a key factor connecting trauma and SfLM highlights the necessity of addressing self-critical tendencies in interventions aimed at fostering meaning-making processes in trauma-affected populations.