Home Institution
Wesleyan University
Publication Date
Spring 2018
Abstract
The present study is a qualitative analysis of resilience mechanisms in inhabitants of the city of Arica, Chile who participated actively in the resistance against the Pinochet dictatorship. Through one-on-one interviews with members of this population and the coordinator/social assistant of the Arican branch of the Chilean government’s reparation program (PRAIS), this project was able to corroborate the existence of the following four categories of resilience mechanisms, which are identified in a technical standard published by the Chilean Under-Secretariat of Health: individual, family, social network, and values and ideology. However, it was revealed that this model should be adapted to account for the interdependency of these mechanisms. The study also identified the impunity and indifference on the part of the Chilean state and society as a hindrance to recuperation, as has been described in numerous earlier studies. However, this situation was shown to be compensated in large part by the “conviction of life”, a concept common among participants, which involves the qualities of hopefulness and perseverance that guided their activism during the dictatorship, and which continue to guide them in the ongoing fight for human rights. It was shown that this conviction can develop from social and family experiences, and involves an internal locus of control, emotional regulation and the positive reappraisal of experiences. This study has implications for the development of social- and value-based therapies for victims of political violence.
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Se trata de un análisis de la resiliencia de personas ariqueñas que participaron activamente en la lucha anti-Pinochetista. Mediante entrevistas individuales con estas personas y con la coordinadora/asistente social del PRAIS Arica, este proyecto pudo corroborar la existencia de cuatro categorías de la resiliencia, las cuales se nombran en una norma técnica de la Subsecretaría de Salud: los valores y la ideología, el individuo, la familia y las redes de apoyo social. Sin embargo, se evidencia que este modelo debería adaptarse para acomodar la interdependencia de estos mecanismos. El estudio también identifica la impunidad y la indiferencia por parte del Estado y de la sociedad chilena como un impedimento para la recuperación, tal como se ha descrito en numerosas obras previas. Sin embargo, esta situación se puede compensar en gran parte por “la convicción de la vida”, un concepto común entre los participantes, el cual implica las cualidades de esperanza y de perseverancia que los guiaban en la resistencia anti-Pinochetista, y que siguen guiándolos en la lucha continua por los derechos humanos. Se evidencia que esta convicción involucra un locus de control interno, la regulación emocional y la reevaluación positiva de las experiencias, y que es un principio que puede desarrollarse a partir de las experiencias sociales y familiares. Este estudio podría repercutir en el desarrollo de terapias con enfoques sociales y valóricos para las víctimas de violencia política.
Disciplines
Family, Life Course, and Society | Latin American Studies | Mental and Social Health | Other Psychiatry and Psychology | Psychiatry and Psychology | Public Health
Recommended Citation
Levinson, Danielle, "Partidarios de la vida: Resiliencia en los afectados directos de la dictadura en Arica, Chile / Supporters of life: Resilience in the direct victims of the dictatorship in Arica, Chile" (2018). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 2778.
https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2778
Included in
Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Latin American Studies Commons, Mental and Social Health Commons, Other Psychiatry and Psychology Commons, Public Health Commons
Program Name
Chile: Public Health, Traditional Medicine, and Community Empowerment