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Experiences of Individuals Feeling a Sense of Alienation after Terrorist Attacks: A Phenomenological Study

Year 2020, Volume: 12 Number: Supplement 1 (Research Issue), 100 - 117, 29.12.2020
https://doi.org/10.18863/pgy.707658

Abstract

The present study aims to investigate the experiences of individuals feeling a sense of alienation after terrorist attacks. This qualitative research, carried out within the theoretical framework of the interpretative phenomenological approach, was conducted with the non-random sampling method and purposive sampling method. The sample consists of 11 volunteers (18-65 years old) without any psychiatric illness, who continued to work in the same workplace before and after the terrorist attack of March 13, 2016, and whose post-attack sense of alienation was determined to be the highest. "Participant Information Form", "Dean's Alienation Scale (AS)" and "Semi-Structured Interview Form" were used as data collection tools. In analysıs of the participants, the mean of the scores from Dean's Alienation Scale varied between 78 and 82. Four main themes were identified as a result of the analysis of the interviews with eleven participants who stated that they or their relatives or acquaintances did not get injured or their relatives or acquaintances were not killed during the terrorist attack. These themes were "attributing meaning to what is witnessed aurally and visually," "change," "individual responses," and "coping."The study concludes that individuals feeling a sense of alienation after terrorist attacks give emotional, mental, physiological, and behavioral responses to these incidents, changes occur in their interpersonal relationships and habits, and their ways of coping with incidents vary. 

References

  • Ahern J, Galea S, Resnick H, Kilpatrick D, Bucuvalas M, Gold J, Vlahov D. (2002) Television images and psychological symptos after the September 11 terrorist attackts. Psychiatry, 65(4):289-300.
  • Amirazodi F, Amirazodi M (2011) Personality traits and self estemm. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 713-716.
  • Anastasova R (2014) Understanding the Role of Religion in Coping after Trauma: Resilience, Post-traumatic Growth and Difference in Coping Mechanisms. Victimology and Criminal Justice, Tilburg Law School, Tilburg University, Master Thesis.
  • Arendt H (2014) On Violence. A Harvest Book Harcourt, Inc. London.
  • Bandura A (1979) Self referent mechanismis in social learning theory. American Psychologist, 63:575-82.
  • Beniet C, Bromet E, Karam EG, Kessler RC, McLaughlin KA, Ruscio AM (2016) The epidemiology of traumatic evet exposure worldwide:result from World Mental Health Survey Consortium. Psychol Med, 46(2):327-343.
  • Biggerstaf D, Thompsın A (2008) Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA): A qualitative methodology of choice in healthcare research. Qual Res Psychol, 5:214-224.
  • Bolton C (1972) Alienation and action: a study of peace-group members. Am J Sociol, 78(3):537–561.
  • Brochi JM, Weardon AJ (2006) A critical evaluation of the use of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) in health psychology. Psychol Health, 21:98-101.
  • Demirci K (2016) The investigation of relationship between chilhood trauma and obsesive-compulsive symptoms. Journal of Mood Disorders, 6(1):7-13.
  • Dunmore E, Clark DM, Ehlers A (1999) Cognitive factors involved in the onset and maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after physical or sexual assault, Behav Res Ther, 37(9):809-29.
  • Englander KE (2003) Understanding Violence. 2 th ed. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. New Jersey, ABD.
  • Ehlers A, Mayou RA, Brynat B (1998) Psychological predictors of choronic posttraumatıc stres disorder after motor vehicle accidents. J Abnorm Psychol, 107:508-519.
  • Falsetti SA, Resick PA, Davis JL (2003) Changes in religious beliefs following trauma. J Trauma Stress, 16(4):391-8.
  • Figley CR (2012) Encyclopedia of Trauma. 1 th ed. London, SAGE Publication.
  • Golier JA, Yehuda R, Lupien SJ et al (2003) Memory for trauma-related information in Holocaust survivours with PTSD. Psychiatry Res, 121:133-43.
  • Gügercin U, Aksay B (2017) Turkısh adaptatıon of Dean’s Alıenatıon scale: a valıdıty and relıabılıty study Int. J Bus Econ Manag,13(1):137-154.
  • Hoffman B (2006) Inside terrorism, 3th ed. Columbia University Press, New York.
  • Holma EA, Silver RC (1998) Getting “stuck” in the past: temporal orientation and coping with trauma. J Pers Soc Psychol, 74:1146-1163.
  • Horney K (1994) The Neurotic Personality of Our Time. Reissue edition. ABD, W.W. Norton & Company.
  • Itzhaky H, Weiss-D, Taubman-Ben-Ari O (2018) Internal and community resources’ contribution to level of posttraumatic symptoms- The case of tourists after the eartquake in Nepal, 2015. Psychl Trauma, 10(2):239-245.
  • Jacupcak M, Conybeare D, Phelps L, Hunt S, Holmes HA, Felker B, Klevens M, McFall ME (2007) Anger, hostility and agression among Irag and Afghanistan War veterans reporting PTSD and subthreshold PTSD. J Trauma Stress, 20(6):945-54.
  • Jebaie J. Alienation”, the Syrian Centre for Policy Research, Damascus. Alienation and Violence Syria, Impact of Syria Crisis Report 2014. scpr-syria.org.
  • Kos MP, Figueredo AJ, Prince RJ (2002) Cognitive midiation of rape’s mental, physical and social health impact-tests of four models in cross-sectional data. J Cons Clinical Psychol,70:926-941.
  • Lauer RH, Warren HH (1977) Social Psychology. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co.
  • Marx K (2006) Marx’s Theory of Alienation. 5th ed. Merlin Press, London.
  • Öksüz B, Batu M (2017) Crısıs communication and turısm: the terror attacks ın 2016 Egemia 1:85-108.
  • Özen Y (2017) Posttrauatic development, growth, identity development and scial relationship. Resarcher: Soc Sci Studies, 5(4):885-872.
  • Öztürk O, Uluşahin A (2008) Mental Health and Disorders, 11 th ed, Ankara, Nobel Publications.
  • Randy B (2004) Psychology of Terrorism. University of South Florida Scholar Commons, Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications, 1-78.
  • Rosenberg M (1979) Conceiving the Self. New York, Basic Books Inc.
  • Seeman M (1983) Alienation Motifs in Contemporary Theorizing: The Hidden Continuity of the Classic Themes. Soc Psychol Quarterly, 46(3):171–184.
  • Schultz U, Mohamed NE (2004) Turning the tide: Benefit finding after cancer surgery. Soc Sci Med, 59(3):653-662.
  • Solberg O, Blix I, Heir T (2015) The aftermath of terrorism: postttraumatic stress and functional impairment after the 2011 Oslo bombing, Front Psychol, 6:1156.
  • Southwick SM, Morgan III CA, Darnell A, Bremner D, Nicolaou AL, Nagy LM, Charney DS. (1995). Trauma-related symptoms in veterans of operation desert storm: A 2-year follow-up. Am J Psychiatry, 152(8):1150-5.
  • Stein MB, Kennedy CM, Twamley EW (2002) Neuropsychological function in female victims of intimate partner violence with and without posttraumatic stress disorder. Biol Psychiatry, 52:1079-88.
  • Stevens JS, Jovanovic T (2018) Role of social cognition in post traumatic stress disorder: A review and meta-anaysis. Genes Brain Behav, 18(1):e12518.
  • Tedeschi RG, Calhoun LG (2004) Posttraumatic growth: Conceptual foundations and empirical evidence. Psychological Ingury, 15(1):1-18.
  • Teddy JA, Lynnette AA, Chadi GA (2018) Neurobiological studies of trauma-related psychopathology:a public health perspective. Eur J Psychotraumatol, 9(1):1556554.
  • Thornton AA, Perez MA (2006) Posttraumatic growth in prostate cancer survivors and their partners. Psycho-Oncology, 15(4):285-296.
  • Vliet Van KJ (2010) Shame and Avoidance in Trauma, Trauma Rehabilitation After War and Conflict, 247-263.
  • Wessa M, Jatzko A, Flor H (2002) Retrival and emotional processing of traumatic memories in posttraumatıc stress disorder: peripheral and central correlates. Neuropsychologia, 44:1682-96.
  • Yasan A, Saka G, Özkan M et al (2009) Trauma type, gender and risk of PTSD in region within an area of conflict. J Trauma Stress, 22(6):663-6.
  • Zara A (2019) Grief intensity, coping nd psychological health among family members and friedns follwing a terrorist attack. Death Stud, 27:1-9.
  • Zeidner M (2006) Individual differences in psychological reactions to terror attack. Personality and Individual Differences, 40(4):771-781.
  • Zhou X, Wu X, Zhen R (2017) Understanding the relationship between social support and posttraumatic stress disorder/posttraumatc growth among adolescents after Ya’an eartquake: The role of emotion regulation. Psychol Trauma, 9(2):214-221.

Terör Saldırıları Sonrası Yabancılaşma Duygusu Yaşayan Bireylerin Yaşantıları: Fenomenolojik Çalışma

Year 2020, Volume: 12 Number: Supplement 1 (Research Issue), 100 - 117, 29.12.2020
https://doi.org/10.18863/pgy.707658

Abstract

Bu çalışmanın amacı, terör saldırıları sonrası yabancılaşma duygusu yaşayan bireylerin yaşantılarının incelenmesidir. Çalışma Yorumlayıcı Fenomenolojik Yaklaşım kuramsal çerçevesinde, nitel desende, rastlantısal olmayan örneklem seçme tekniği ve amaçlı örneklem yöntemi ile yürütülmüştür. Çalışmanın örneklem grubunu, 13 Mart 2016 bombalı terör saldırı öncesi ve sonrası aynı iş yerinde çalışmaya devam eden ve saldırı sonrası yabancılaşma duygusu en yüksek düzeyde tespit edilen, gönüllü, 18-65 yaş arasında, psikiyatrik rahatsızlığı bulunmayan 11 katılımcı oluşturmuştur. Veri toplama aracı olarak “Katılımcı Bilgi Formu”, “Dean’in Yabancılaşma Ölçeği (YÖ)” ile “Yarı Yapılandırılmış Görüşme Formu” kullanılmıştır. Analizde görüşmecilerin tamamının Dean’in Yabancılaşma Ölçeği puan ortalamaları 78-82 arasında değişkenlik göstermiştir. Terör saldırısında kendilerinin, yakınlarının, tanıdığı kişilerin yara almadığını, can kaybı yaşamadıklarını ifade eden on bir görüşmecinin anlatıları incelendiğinde dört ana tema belirlenmiştir. Bunlar:” işitsel ve görsel olarak tanık olunanların anlamlandırılması”, “değişim”, “bireysel tepkiler” ve “baş etme” şeklindedir. Çalışmanın sonucunda, terör saldırıları sonrası yabancılaşma duygusu yaşadıkları tespit edilen bireylerin duygusal, zihinsel, fiziksel ve davranışsal alanlarda tepkiler gösterdikleri, kişilerarası ilişkiler ile alışkanlıklarında değişimlerin meydana geldiği ve yaşanan olaylarla baş etme biçimlerinin çeşitlilik gösterdiği saptanmıştır.

References

  • Ahern J, Galea S, Resnick H, Kilpatrick D, Bucuvalas M, Gold J, Vlahov D. (2002) Television images and psychological symptos after the September 11 terrorist attackts. Psychiatry, 65(4):289-300.
  • Amirazodi F, Amirazodi M (2011) Personality traits and self estemm. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 713-716.
  • Anastasova R (2014) Understanding the Role of Religion in Coping after Trauma: Resilience, Post-traumatic Growth and Difference in Coping Mechanisms. Victimology and Criminal Justice, Tilburg Law School, Tilburg University, Master Thesis.
  • Arendt H (2014) On Violence. A Harvest Book Harcourt, Inc. London.
  • Bandura A (1979) Self referent mechanismis in social learning theory. American Psychologist, 63:575-82.
  • Beniet C, Bromet E, Karam EG, Kessler RC, McLaughlin KA, Ruscio AM (2016) The epidemiology of traumatic evet exposure worldwide:result from World Mental Health Survey Consortium. Psychol Med, 46(2):327-343.
  • Biggerstaf D, Thompsın A (2008) Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA): A qualitative methodology of choice in healthcare research. Qual Res Psychol, 5:214-224.
  • Bolton C (1972) Alienation and action: a study of peace-group members. Am J Sociol, 78(3):537–561.
  • Brochi JM, Weardon AJ (2006) A critical evaluation of the use of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) in health psychology. Psychol Health, 21:98-101.
  • Demirci K (2016) The investigation of relationship between chilhood trauma and obsesive-compulsive symptoms. Journal of Mood Disorders, 6(1):7-13.
  • Dunmore E, Clark DM, Ehlers A (1999) Cognitive factors involved in the onset and maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after physical or sexual assault, Behav Res Ther, 37(9):809-29.
  • Englander KE (2003) Understanding Violence. 2 th ed. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. New Jersey, ABD.
  • Ehlers A, Mayou RA, Brynat B (1998) Psychological predictors of choronic posttraumatıc stres disorder after motor vehicle accidents. J Abnorm Psychol, 107:508-519.
  • Falsetti SA, Resick PA, Davis JL (2003) Changes in religious beliefs following trauma. J Trauma Stress, 16(4):391-8.
  • Figley CR (2012) Encyclopedia of Trauma. 1 th ed. London, SAGE Publication.
  • Golier JA, Yehuda R, Lupien SJ et al (2003) Memory for trauma-related information in Holocaust survivours with PTSD. Psychiatry Res, 121:133-43.
  • Gügercin U, Aksay B (2017) Turkısh adaptatıon of Dean’s Alıenatıon scale: a valıdıty and relıabılıty study Int. J Bus Econ Manag,13(1):137-154.
  • Hoffman B (2006) Inside terrorism, 3th ed. Columbia University Press, New York.
  • Holma EA, Silver RC (1998) Getting “stuck” in the past: temporal orientation and coping with trauma. J Pers Soc Psychol, 74:1146-1163.
  • Horney K (1994) The Neurotic Personality of Our Time. Reissue edition. ABD, W.W. Norton & Company.
  • Itzhaky H, Weiss-D, Taubman-Ben-Ari O (2018) Internal and community resources’ contribution to level of posttraumatic symptoms- The case of tourists after the eartquake in Nepal, 2015. Psychl Trauma, 10(2):239-245.
  • Jacupcak M, Conybeare D, Phelps L, Hunt S, Holmes HA, Felker B, Klevens M, McFall ME (2007) Anger, hostility and agression among Irag and Afghanistan War veterans reporting PTSD and subthreshold PTSD. J Trauma Stress, 20(6):945-54.
  • Jebaie J. Alienation”, the Syrian Centre for Policy Research, Damascus. Alienation and Violence Syria, Impact of Syria Crisis Report 2014. scpr-syria.org.
  • Kos MP, Figueredo AJ, Prince RJ (2002) Cognitive midiation of rape’s mental, physical and social health impact-tests of four models in cross-sectional data. J Cons Clinical Psychol,70:926-941.
  • Lauer RH, Warren HH (1977) Social Psychology. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co.
  • Marx K (2006) Marx’s Theory of Alienation. 5th ed. Merlin Press, London.
  • Öksüz B, Batu M (2017) Crısıs communication and turısm: the terror attacks ın 2016 Egemia 1:85-108.
  • Özen Y (2017) Posttrauatic development, growth, identity development and scial relationship. Resarcher: Soc Sci Studies, 5(4):885-872.
  • Öztürk O, Uluşahin A (2008) Mental Health and Disorders, 11 th ed, Ankara, Nobel Publications.
  • Randy B (2004) Psychology of Terrorism. University of South Florida Scholar Commons, Mental Health Law & Policy Faculty Publications, 1-78.
  • Rosenberg M (1979) Conceiving the Self. New York, Basic Books Inc.
  • Seeman M (1983) Alienation Motifs in Contemporary Theorizing: The Hidden Continuity of the Classic Themes. Soc Psychol Quarterly, 46(3):171–184.
  • Schultz U, Mohamed NE (2004) Turning the tide: Benefit finding after cancer surgery. Soc Sci Med, 59(3):653-662.
  • Solberg O, Blix I, Heir T (2015) The aftermath of terrorism: postttraumatic stress and functional impairment after the 2011 Oslo bombing, Front Psychol, 6:1156.
  • Southwick SM, Morgan III CA, Darnell A, Bremner D, Nicolaou AL, Nagy LM, Charney DS. (1995). Trauma-related symptoms in veterans of operation desert storm: A 2-year follow-up. Am J Psychiatry, 152(8):1150-5.
  • Stein MB, Kennedy CM, Twamley EW (2002) Neuropsychological function in female victims of intimate partner violence with and without posttraumatic stress disorder. Biol Psychiatry, 52:1079-88.
  • Stevens JS, Jovanovic T (2018) Role of social cognition in post traumatic stress disorder: A review and meta-anaysis. Genes Brain Behav, 18(1):e12518.
  • Tedeschi RG, Calhoun LG (2004) Posttraumatic growth: Conceptual foundations and empirical evidence. Psychological Ingury, 15(1):1-18.
  • Teddy JA, Lynnette AA, Chadi GA (2018) Neurobiological studies of trauma-related psychopathology:a public health perspective. Eur J Psychotraumatol, 9(1):1556554.
  • Thornton AA, Perez MA (2006) Posttraumatic growth in prostate cancer survivors and their partners. Psycho-Oncology, 15(4):285-296.
  • Vliet Van KJ (2010) Shame and Avoidance in Trauma, Trauma Rehabilitation After War and Conflict, 247-263.
  • Wessa M, Jatzko A, Flor H (2002) Retrival and emotional processing of traumatic memories in posttraumatıc stress disorder: peripheral and central correlates. Neuropsychologia, 44:1682-96.
  • Yasan A, Saka G, Özkan M et al (2009) Trauma type, gender and risk of PTSD in region within an area of conflict. J Trauma Stress, 22(6):663-6.
  • Zara A (2019) Grief intensity, coping nd psychological health among family members and friedns follwing a terrorist attack. Death Stud, 27:1-9.
  • Zeidner M (2006) Individual differences in psychological reactions to terror attack. Personality and Individual Differences, 40(4):771-781.
  • Zhou X, Wu X, Zhen R (2017) Understanding the relationship between social support and posttraumatic stress disorder/posttraumatc growth among adolescents after Ya’an eartquake: The role of emotion regulation. Psychol Trauma, 9(2):214-221.
There are 46 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language Turkish
Subjects Social Psychology
Journal Section Research
Authors

Nazan Turan 0000-0001-9251-7282

Birgül Özkan 0000-0002-1271-8007

Publication Date December 29, 2020
Acceptance Date June 2, 2020
Published in Issue Year 2020 Volume: 12 Number: Supplement 1 (Research Issue)

Cite

AMA Turan N, Özkan B. Terör Saldırıları Sonrası Yabancılaşma Duygusu Yaşayan Bireylerin Yaşantıları: Fenomenolojik Çalışma. Psikiyatride Güncel Yaklaşımlar - Current Approaches in Psychiatry. December 2020;12:100-117. doi:10.18863/pgy.707658

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