Surviving the Kosovo Conflict: A Study of Social Identity, Appraisal of Extreme Events, and Mental Well-Being

Our study examined the role of social identity processes in determining how individuals evaluate, deal with, and are affected by severe events of war. We reasoned that for those who experience such events collectively and who identify strongly with their group, primary appraisal will be filtered through the prism of social identity. In a sample of Kosovo Albanians who had survived the armed conflict in 1999, we found that those who were able to evaluate the war as affirming their group identity presented lower levels of depressive mood and anxiety and higher levels of self-efficacy. Furthermore, this process of war appraisal affected the process of secondary appraisal. Specifically, positive war appraisal increased availability of support from close others and reduced the importance of positive individual coping strategies in dealing with extreme events. Conversely, negative war appraisal reduced availability of support from close others and reduced the importance of negative coping strategies in dealing with extreme events.