How do people experience innocent suffering?

The paper examines the psychological facet of innocent suffering. One can find a description of this phenomenon in social psychology as a factor that affects the belief in a just world, but there is a lack of qualitative scientific data about related psychological features, processes, copings, and c...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in psychology 2023-06, Vol.14, p.1148902-1148902
Main Author: Smirnov, Evgeny
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
belief in a just world
causal coherence
critical event
innocent suffering
justice
Psychology
Citations: Items that this one cites
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Summary:The paper examines the psychological facet of innocent suffering. One can find a description of this phenomenon in social psychology as a factor that affects the belief in a just world, but there is a lack of qualitative scientific data about related psychological features, processes, copings, and consequences on the personality level. To study innocent suffering, semi-structured in-depth interview was conducted (31 respondents, ~223 minutes per respondent, 6,924 min in total) aimed to gather data about the experiences of innocent sufferings happened to participants. For the analysis of texts, a narrative and content analysis are used within the framework of grounded theory. The reliability of the results is based on expert assessment. As a result, six essential properties of innocent sufferings were identified: complexity, stability, distress, injustice, casual incoherence, and breaks of integrity of a life story. The most "popular" life domains, in which participants reported about innocent sufferings, are violence, abuse (physical and psychological), and quitting romantic relationships. It is proposed a scientific definition of innocent suffering and the prototype of the phenomenon.
ISSN:1664-1078
1664-1078
DOI:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1148902