Political violence, collective functioning and health: A review of the literature

Abstract

Political violence is implicated in a range of mental health outcomes, including PTSD, depression, and anxiety. The social and political contexts of people’s lives, however, offer considerable protection from the mental health effects of political violence. In spite of the importance of people’s social and political environments for health, there is limited scholarship on how political violence compromises necessary social and political systems and inhibits individuals from participating in social and political life. Drawing on literature from multiple disciplines, including public health, anthropology, and psychology, this narrative review uses a multi-level, social ecological framework to enhance current knowledge about the ways that political violence affects health. Findings from over 50 studies were analyzed and used to build a conceptual model demonstrating how political violence threatens three inter-related domains of functioning: individual functioning in relationship to their environment; community functioning and social fabric; and governmental functioning and delivery of services to populations. Results illustrate the need for multilevel frameworks that move beyond individual pathology towards more nuanced conceptualizations about how political violence affects health; findings contribute to the development of prevention programs addressing political violence.

Pathways to sympathies for violent protest and terrorism

“…The dominant explanation about radicalisation is that poverty, unemployment, discrimination, political isolation and cultural marginalisation lead to grievances, which in turn foster increased receptivity to political violence as a solution. 7 Adverse life events and poor civic engagement are associated with depression 12,13 and poor health 14,15 and are reported to engender extremism, 7,16–18 suggesting some shared aetiologies for depression and extremism.…”

Political violence and mental health: Effects of neoliberalism and the role of international social work practice

“…Political violence simultaneously compromises individual, community, and government functioning (Hobfoll et al, 2007; Lykes et al, 2007; Martín-Baró et al, 1994; Robben, 2005; Sousa, 2013). Accordingly, healing from political violence is not just an individual imperative, but rather a communal process centered on the reestablishment of collective trust and social and political action (Ager et al, 2005; Summerfield, 2002).…”

The need to shift to a contextualized and collective mental health paradigm: learning from crisis-hit Lebanon

“…Following the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health has been highlighted as a global priority in response to the fallout of the crisis, with the toll of lockdown, loss of jobs, increase in domestic violence, and lower social support impacting the wellbeing and functioning of affected populations (Holmes et al ., 2020; UNHCR, 2020a; WHO, 2020). Research has shown that such crises, particularly when chronic, have an impact beyond the experience of the individual, affecting the functioning of families, communities, and wider social structures and socio-political systems (Sousa, 2013; Somasundaram, 2014). Despite major advances in the development and implementation of interventions in responding to crises and emergencies, there remain significant gaps in the evidence-base for public mental health responses that are sufficiently contextualized to this collective suffering.…”