Restoration of a moral universe: The perspectives of children and youth from war-affected contexts on justice and forgiveness: Traumatic, developmental and attachment dimensions.

Research on the psychological concomitants of forgiveness has direct implications for therapy with traumatized and war-affected children. Finding that forgiveness has been linked with well-being has led to the promotion of reconciliation following political violence. Whether responses to war, however, should be corrected or modified has encountered strong challenges from those who insist that truth-telling and justice must precede forgiveness and that such psychological forays may undermine social and political recovery. When post-traumatic symptoms such as nightmares and re-enactments persist, moral dilemmas around anger, guilt are often at play. The (re)-construction of a narrative is often prescribed as a therapeutic means of attenuating the impact of potentially traumatic events.

Recorded: October 2009, Dubrovnik - Cavtat, Croatia.
Coping & Resilience International Conference
Organiser: The Brisbane Institute of Strengths Based Practice