The meaning maintenance model and the victims of the ‘Troubles’: a needs-based theoretical review of the social psychological literature on Northern Ireland

Abstract

Despite the widespread acknowledgement that the needs of those affected by the conflict in Northern Ireland are complex and enduring, there is relatively little empirical scrutiny of these issues in the psychological literature. This is not to say that individuals' needs have been overlooked entirely in this context; rather, we argue that the underlying theoretical focus is somewhat variable. To this end, we have used illustrative examples from the social psychological literature, as well as policy documents, to examine the applicability of needs-based theoretical models in social psychology in this context, focusing particularly on ‘affirmative’ and ‘certainty’ needs. This review reveals some of the complexities that emerged with the application of needs-based theoretical models to the non-normative contexts of peace transition in Northern Ireland. This paper suggests some potential challenges to the static notion of victims’ needs in this context and suggests a potential avenue for future research.

Keywords:

• meaning maintenance model
• Northern Ireland
• the Troubles
• conflict
• needs
• identity

Notes on contributors

Dr. Orla Lynch Orla Lynch is currently a Lecturer in Criminology at University College Cork , Ireland having previously been Director of Teaching and a Lecturer in Terrorism Studies at CSTPV at the University of St Andrews. Her current research focuses on victimisation and political violence in relation to the direct victims of violence, but also the broader psycho-social impact of victimisation and the perpetrator-victim complex. She has also examined the notion of suspect communities in relation to the impact of counter terrorism measures on Muslim youth communities. She is currently the principal investigator on a multisite EU funded project that looks at the importance of narratives of victimisation used by former perpetrators of political violence and the role of both former perpetrators and victims in ongoing peace initiatives. A previous EU funded research project on which she was PI examined the issue of the needs of victims of terrorism focusing on Northern Ireland, London and Basque Country. She is also interested in individual and group desistance from political violence, including issues related to deradicalisation, the role of grand narratives in justifying involvement in violence and psychosocial understandings of the transitions from violence to peace. Her recent books include Victims of Terrorism, a comparative and interdisciplinary study and International Perspectives on Terrorist Victimisation: An interdisciplinary approach.

Dr Carmel Joyce is currently a Post Doctoral Research Fellow with CSTPV at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. Carmel joined the School of International Relations, University of St Andrews in August 2012.

Before joining St. Andrews, Carmel was a PhD candidate in the Department of Psychology, University of Limerick. Entitled ‘Strategic displays and evaluations of national identification: A mixed methods investigation’, her thesis employed both a discursive and experimental approach to examine individual displays of national identity and the potential consequentiality for entitlement within the nation. Carmel also hold a B.A. in Psychological Studies, Sociology and Politics from the National University of Ireland, Galway, as well as a post graduate Higher Diploma in Applied Psychology from University College Cork.

Carmel was awarded the ‘Peter Dempsey Award’, by academic council at University College Cork, for achieving the top overall score for her degree in Applied Psychology.

Notes

1. Extensive literature is available on issues pertaining to child victims of the conflict, child development and morality concerns, identity issues and the promotion of inter-group interaction among school children in NI. For the purposes of brevity and due to space constraints, the focus here will be on adults in NI as a means of understanding the applicability of needs frameworks among this particular population.

2. Post-traumatic stress disorder is a condition that may develop after a person experiences or is exposed to a traumatic event.

3. There is some variation in the theoretical language used: universal human ‘needs’ has been used interchangeably with ‘motivations’ and ‘desires'.