Trauma-informed approach for bridging ethnic distance in post-conflict societies : a pilot study and intervention evaluation

Kuhar, Metka (author), Bolko, Irena (author), Zupančič, Rok (author)

The article presents a pilot study based on intervention conducted in Croatia in 2022. De-spite intensive peacebuilding efforts, ethnic tensions in post-conflict societies remain high,suggesting that current strategies may be missing critical components. This experimentintegrated recent neurophysiological findings, particularly polyvagal theory, into peace-building intervention. The intervention involved a two-day seminar in Zagreb, wheretrauma-informed, body-based techniques were used to address post-war trauma. Partici-pants learnt to recognise and manage trauma reactions by promoting their interoceptiveawareness and a felt sense of safety. The seminar included both theoretical and experientialcomponents, focusing on the impact of trauma on the autonomous nervous system andinterpersonal dynamics. The study used an experimental design with intervention andcontrol group to investigate the effects of the seminar. Measures included interoceptiveawareness, autonomic reactivity, ethnic distance, perspective taking and mental well-being.The results showed that the participants in the intervention group showed significantimprovements in interoceptive awareness, particularly in not worrying and emotionalawareness subscales compared to the control group. However, ethnic distance scores didnot decrease as expected, highlighting the complexity of changing deep-rooted attitudes.The study faced some challenges, including participant recruitment and the short durationof the intervention, which may have limited its effectiveness. Despite these limitations, thefindings suggest that integrating trauma-informed approaches into peacebuilding effortsholds promise for improving interethnic relations. Future research should focus on longerinterventions and diverse participant groups to better understand the potential of thesemethods in various contexts.

• Language: English
• Keywords: trauma-informed peacebuilding, ethnic distance, interoceptive awareness, polyvagal theory, post-conflict societies, peacebuilding, trauma
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FDV - Faculty of Social Sciences
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 10.06.2023
• Year: 2023
• Number of pages: Str. 57-75
• Numbering: Vol. 20, no. 1
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-161472
• UDC: 159.96
• ISSN on article: 1854-0023
• DOI: 10.51936/dswp1546
• COBISS.SI-ID: 198810371
• Publication date in RUL: 11.09.2024

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Advances in methodology and statistics
• Shortened title: Metodol. zv.
• Publisher: Fakulteta za družbene vede
• ISSN: 1854-0023
• COBISS.SI-ID: 215795712

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: travma, gradnja miru, etnična distanca, interoceptivno zavedanje, polivagalna teorija, postkonfliktne družbe

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: N5-0178-2021
• Name: Anksioznost(i) v 'razdeljenih mestih' pokonfliktnih družb: razvoj in testiranje inovativnih (eksperimentalnih) pristopov v procesih izgradnje miru