WORLD
Perceived injustice drives long-term psychological stress, researchers say
Perceptions of unfairness play a central role in intensifying and prolonging psychological trauma following war, offering new insight into why some survivors struggle to recover long after the immediate danger has passed, TPS-IL reported citing an Israeli study.
Exposure alone doesn’t explain lasting trauma. Two people can endure similar events, but the one who internalizes a sense of injustice is far more likely to suffer ongoing symptoms, researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem found.
The longitudinal research was conducted in the aftermath of the October 7 Hamas attack and the subsequent war, examining how cognitive patterns known as perceived injustice shape responses to trauma. Perceived injustice refers to the belief that one’s suffering is unfair, irreversible, and cannot be adequately repaired.
Led by Dr. Gadi Gilam, head of the translational Social, Cognitive, and Affective Neuroscience (tSCAN) lab at the Hebrew University’s Institute of Biomedical and Oral Research, the study followed nearly 1,700 Israeli participants beginning three months after the attack. More than 600 participants completed follow-up assessments six months later. The findings were published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Affective Disorders.
Participants reported their exposure and proximity to traumatic events, levels of traumatic stress symptoms, perceptions of injustice, and emotional distress, including depression, anxiety, and anger. According to the researchers, the results were consistent and striking across both time points.
“As individuals perceived their suffering as more unfair and irreparable, they reported higher levels of traumatic stress symptoms,” the study found. Importantly, perceived injustice predicted future severity of traumatic symptoms even after accounting for direct exposure to violence and other emotional distress indicators.
“In the aftermath of trauma, we often focus on emotions like fear or sadness,” Dr. Gilam said. “Our findings demonstrate that a sense of unfairness can be just as damaging, if not more so. When people believe that what happened to them or to others was particularly unjust and cannot be amended, it can prolong suffering and make it harder to heal.”
The study also tracked changes in emotional responses over time. While levels of traumatic stress, perceived injustice, depression, and anxiety remained largely stable between January and July 2024, anger increased significantly during that period.
According to Dr. Gilam, this pattern underscores the enduring nature of injustice-related thinking. “Perceived injustice may serve as a persistent cognitive prism, shaping how survivors interpret ongoing events and their emotional aftermath,” he said. Anger, the researchers noted, is the most common emotional response to injustice and may represent an additional target for therapeutic intervention.
The study’s findings have clear practical implications, showing how understanding and addressing perceptions of injustice can directly improve trauma treatment and recovery.
For clinicians, the research suggests that trauma care can be strengthened by explicitly addressing perceived injustice. By helping patients reframe beliefs that their suffering is unfair or irreparable, therapists can reduce prolonged traumatic stress. At the same time, targeting anger — which the study found increases over time even when other symptoms remain stable — may prevent trauma from becoming chronic and improve emotional regulation.
Beyond the therapy room, early identification of individuals at risk is also critical. Screening for injustice-driven thought patterns can reveal those most likely to experience long-term trauma, even if they initially appear resilient. Training first responders, social workers, and caregivers to recognize these patterns enables timely intervention and supports more effective, preventative mental health care.
The findings also suggest that post-conflict mental health programs can support recovery by acknowledging harm, restoring a sense of agency, and fostering dialogue.
