Political scandal: The effects of government betrayal on American citizen

Controversial events involving large institutions have received widespread attention over the last decade. As a result of certain scandals (e.g., sexual abuse in the Catholic Church), trauma researchers have begun to examine the unique outcomes associated with trauma occurring within larger institutions. Institutional betrayal refers to the methodical failure of institutions to prevent and address acts of abuse or misconduct which subsequently impact the wellbeing of individual members. To date, the betrayal literature has focused on sexual abuse in religious and academic institutions. This study extended the institutional betrayal literature in order to assess whether American citizens experience distress and betrayal in response to controversial events involving the government and public entities. Additionally, the study evaluated whether individual responses to events differed based on racial identification, gender, and political affiliation.;A pilot study was first conducted in order to generate a list of emotionally salient events. In the final phase of the study, 287 participants completed online measures that evaluated trauma-related symptomatology (i.e. depression, dissociation, and PTSD symptoms) and reactions to the scandals generated in the pilot study. A Political Event Rating Form was designed to assess emotional, cognitive, and behavioral changes resulting from scandals involving public institutions. The majority of the sample (95.1%) reported experiencing moderate to severe distress over one or more of the events. Race, gender, and political affiliation interacted in complex ways to predict distress, betrayal and behavioral change self-reports. The findings from this study provide important implications for the field of trauma psychology. Controversial events that receive widespread media attention may impact individuals who have been either directly or indirectly exposed. Interventions that address common responses to such events should continue to be explored in future studies.