Background
to the
Research
- It has been argued that
people can experience psychological trauma to events in which they
do not participate. This study assesses the psychological effects
on the families of the 13 civilians shot dead on Bloody Sunday in
Londonderry in 1972.
Research
Approach
- A questionnaire comprising The Revised
Impact of Events Scale was administered to 72 members of the families
of those killed in order to determine the levels of psychological
distress.
Main
Findings
- The sample comprised 39 males (54%) and
33 females (46%), with ages ranging from 19-69 years.
- The sample comprised 32 members of the
immediate family, 17 children of the immediate family, 13 cousins
of the immediate family and 10 second-cousins of the immediate family.
- Four members of the immediate family were
present at the scene of Bloody Sunday.
- The immediate family and, to a lesser
degree the children and cousins of the immediate family are experiencing
significant psychological distress in relation to the events of Bloody
Sunday which took place 30 years ago.
- The children of the immediate family and
cousins of the immediate family recorded levels of psychological distress
that are consistent with exposure to life-threatening events.
- The degree of psychological distress appears
to co-vary with familial distance from the victim.
- In part, the long-term effect of Bloody
Sunday may be due to cumulative stressors related to the number of
inquiries into the event and recent dramatizations of the events.
|