Personal Emotions, Emotional Climate, Social Sharing, Beliefs, and Values Among People Affected and Unaffected by Past Political Violence

Beliefs, emotions, and perception of socioemotional climate were analyzed in people affected and unaffected by past political violence in Chile (N = 1278). Compared with unaffected people, affected people reported a more positive attitude toward transitional justice procedure, were better informed, were more likely to reject an attitude of forgetting about the past, regarded institutional apologies as less sincere and effective, judged the current social climate as less positive, reported higher negative emotions related to the past, and showed less purpose in life. No differences were found for forgiveness or for outcomes of the transitional justice procedures or Truth Commissions, such as documentation of the truth or creation of an inclusive collective memory. Across groups, a negative view of forgiveness and a positive view of Truth Commissions dominated the picture. However, compared with nonvictims, victims also reported more pride and were more likely to endorse Universalist values, and this suggested that victims were subject, simultaneously, to a long-term negative impact of past events and a process of posttraumatic growth.