Religious and Spiritual Dimensions of Traumatic Violence

C HAPTER 1 9 RELIGIOUS AND SPIRITUAL DIMENSIONS OF TRAUMATIC VIOLENCE Roger D. Fallot and Andrea K. Blanch Events of the past decade, including the terrorist D efinitional Issues ASSOCIATION attacks on September 11, clergy sexual abuse scan- Although virtually all traumatic events are relevant dals, high-profile violence against women and to the discussion of the relation between trauma and minority groups, and ongoing combat in many areas religion or spirituality, we will focus on the often- of the world have focused attention on the preva- devastating experience of violence. Interpersonal lence and impact of traumatic violent events. Simul- violence takes many forms and can occur in many taneously, people’s frequent “turn to religion” contexts. In childhood and adolescence, physical, (Schuster et al., 2007) after such events has raised sexual, and emotional abuse are common as are many questions about the place of spirituality and experiences of bullying and peer and gang violence religion in relation to trauma. This chapter will (Finkelhor,PSYCHOLOGICAL 2011). Community-based surveys report explore (a) our working definition of trauma in the that many adults have experienced physical and sex- context of interpersonal violence and the impact of ual assaults (Kessler, Sonnega, Bromet, Hughes, & interpersonal trauma on psychological well-being; Nelson, 1995). Violence occurs in the home and (b) spirituality and religion in the aftermath of family (including intimate partner violence); on the trauma, including the place of spiritual andAMERICAN reli- streets; in institutions, such as schools, faith com- gious resources in trauma recovery and© healing; and munities, and jails; in human trafficking; in terror- (c) the relationships between religious contexts and ism and torture; in refugee settings; and in combat. interpersonal violence, including the impact of reli- Violence may be embedded in historical trauma, gious abuse and the role of religious involvement in such as that experienced over generations by African violence prevention. WePROOFS will conclude with some Americans, Native Americans, women, and other recommendations for developing trauma-informed groups, including those identified primarily by their services and communities that reflect knowledge religious affiliation. People experience violence both about religion, spirituality, violence, and trauma directly and indirectly, as witnesses to violence per- recovery. petrated on others. Finally, violence may occur in a single incident or be repeated and prolonged. Virtually all of these forms of violence constitute INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE traumatic events. Whether or not they become “psy- AND TRAUMA: DEFINITION AND chologically traumatic” depends on the impact they UNCORRECTEDCONSEQUENCES have on the individual. Definitions of psychological To understand the importance of spirituality and trauma therefore have often been two-sided, draw- religion in the context of interpersonal violence, it is ing on both “objective” and “subjective” indicators. first necessary to define trauma and to describe some For example, Calhoun and Tedeschi (2006) stated of its common consequences. that traumatically stressful or “seismic” events have DOI: 10.1037/XXXXX.XXX APA Handbook of Psychology, Religion, and Spirituality: Vol. 2. An Applied Psychology of Religion and Spirituality, K. I. Pargament (Editor-in-Chief) 371 Copyright © 2013 by the American Psychological Association. All rights reserved. APA-HRO_V2-12-0402-019.indd 371 19/07/12 7:05 PM Fallot and Blanch the unique capacity to disrupt personal narratives, response to the kinds of multiple, repeated adversi- to divide one’s experience into a “before and after” ties to which many people, especially children, are (pp. 8–9). For the purposes of this chapter, we will exposed. consider psychologically traumatic those experi- In spite of the challenges faced by those who are ences of violence that overwhelm a person’s internal exposed to violence, trauma may ultimately lead to and external resources for positive coping. By plac- positive changes, such as those summarized as post- ing additional weight on the individual’s experience, traumatic growth (PTG; Tedeschi & Calhoun, this definition takes seriously the tremendous range 1996). Calhoun and Tedeschi (2006) described sev- of events that might be traumatizing (or retrauma- eral psychosocial domains that characterize their tizing) for a particular person, especially on the basis understanding of PTG. First, trauma survivors may of their histories of previous exposure to adversity. develop a stronger sense of self, as those who have Because people intentionally commit acts of inter- survived horrific events and simultaneously may personal violence—in contrast to those potentially acknowledge the strength it took to do so. Second, traumatic events that we think of as “natural”— individuals may report that accompanyingASSOCIATION this violence frequently has unique contextual meanings. renewed sense of self is an openness to new possibil- One example is “betrayal trauma,” in which those ities and new goals for the future. For example, who have relational or caretaking responsibilities many survivors describe a sense of mission, a plan to use their power abusively (Freyd, 1998). ensure others’ safety and well-being that grows out of seeing clearly their own vulnerability and C onsequences of Traumatic Events strength. In a related way, persons sometimes report Studies of the negative impact of psychological that their exposure to trauma has left them with trauma have often centered on posttraumatic stress greater compassion for other people in general, disorder (PTSD). The consequences of trauma, how- especiallyPSYCHOLOGICAL for those who suffer. Enhanced empathy ever, especially of repeated violent victimization, is one marker of stress-related growth. extend well beyond PTSD and its three hallmark Although it is important for researchers and symptoms of arousal, reexperiencing, and avoid- practitioners to attend to processes of PTG or ance. The negative effects of exposure to trauma “growth following adversity” (Joseph & Linley, include depression, anger or hostility, generalized 2008), these concepts may have limited applicability anxiety, interpersonal difficulties, substance AMERICANabuse, to the experiences of some individuals and groups. and physical health problems. The Adverse© Child- For example, those who have been abused repeat- hood Experiences Study has provided extensive doc- edly in childhood may not have had the time to umentation of the risks associated with childhood develop the coherent sense of self, with well- trauma: mental health problems (depression, suicid- established assumptive worlds, presumed in most ality, hallucinations), substancePROOFS use (smoking, intra- PTG studies (cf. Janoff-Bulman, 2006). Many survi- venous [IV] drug use, alcoholism), impaired work vors of childhood abuse and neglect face the pri- performance, physical health problems (liver dis- mary challenge of forming a valued sense of self, ease, heart disease—after controlling for the usual with necessary personal and social skills, rather than predisposing factors), and mortality, among others transforming an already established self. PTG may (Felitti & Anda, 2010). The strength of these rela- be more useful in understanding responses to single tionships is noteworthy. For example, population- traumatic events, such as a violent assault in youth attributable risk results indicate that 54% of current or adulthood; concepts such as recovery and healing depressionUNCORRECTED and 58% of suicide attempts in women may be more helpful in understanding responses to can be attributed to adverse childhood experiences repeated and prolonged exposure to violence (for a (Felitti & Anda, 2010). Although the PTSD literature discussion of self-healing, see the section Spirituality has been very helpful in addressing single-incident in Interventions Designed to Facilitate Trauma traumas and their neurobiological and psychological Recovery and Growth later in this chapter). Though impact, PTSD alone cannot adequately reflect “recovery” does not necessarily entail a return to 372 APA-HRO_V2-12-0402-019.indd 372 19/07/12 7:05 PM Religious and Spiritual Dimensions of Traumatic Violence pre-trauma levels of well-being or functioning, it experience of interpersonal trauma affects subse- does mean that the recovering person is assimilating quent measures of religious beliefs and behaviors and working through the trauma in a way that offers (Chen & Koenig, 2006; Walker, Reid, O’Neill, & hope for a chosen and positive life course. Brown, 2009). In a review of 34 studies of child abuse and later measures of spirituality and religios- ity, with a total of more than 19,000 participants, RC E IPROCAL RELATIONSHIPS: RELIGION Walker et al. (2009) found that 14 studies showed a AND SPIRITUALITY AFTER TRAUMA decline of religiousness, 12 showed a combination Attempts to describe the complex biological, psy- of growth and decline, and seven gave preliminary chological, and interpersonal sequelae of trauma indications that religiousness or spirituality can raise important questions about the relation of moderate the development of posttraumatic symp- trauma to spirituality and religion. For example, van toms. Similarly, in a review of 11 cross-sectional der Kolk (2005) has argued persuasively for the studies of the impact of trauma on religion and spir- inclusion of “developmental trauma disorder” as a ituality, Chen

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