Guilt Feelings and Locus of Control of Concentration Camp Survivors

Abstract

The present study compared concentration camp survivors and controls from the same ethnic and religious background on two variables: guilt feelings in everyday life and locus of control. No significant differences were found between survivors and controls. As for sex differences, it was found that women expressed significantly more guilt than men in "behaviors contrary to moral or ethical principles" and men were significantly more internal than women. The implications of these findings were discussed.

Parental Communication and Psychological Distress in Children of Holocaust Survivors: a Comparison Between the U.S. and Israel

“…In contrast, there are many other authors (e. g. Leon et al 1981;Lobel et al 1985;Matussek, 1975;Zlotigorski, 1983) who refute a specific &dquo;survivor syndrome&dquo;, expressing the opinion that the premorbid developmental history is of greater importance than the survivor's war experiences in determining present coping patterns and subsequent behaviour as a parent. In fact, it has been postulated that an experience such as the Holocaust may even bring about better coping skills in certain predisposed individuals (Antovsky et al, 1971;Gay et al 1974 How the wartime experiences of parents are transmitted to the second generation is a subject of significant debate.…”