A Psychological Investigation of Individual and Social Transformations in Post-Genocide Rwanda

Abstract

This article explores why some individuals and communities are able to successfully break cycles of violence and rebuild their lives after experiencing the trauma of genocide. Stressing the need to recognize alternative psychological models of response to trauma, the author outlines the concept of post-traumatic growth as a counterweight to post-traumatic stress disorder. He then analyzes original data from Rwandan genocide survivors in order to investigate the potential for a recovering trauma victim to contribute to the broader goals of societal and ethnic reconciliation.