The emotional fallout of armed conflict in Colombia: Emotions, empathy, and aggression in victims, indirect victims, and members of the military

Objective: There is a limited knowledge about the emotional and interpersonal effects of the more than five-decade armed conflict in Colombia. The aim of the present study was to identify differences and relationships between emotional response, empathy, and aggressive behavior in three groups who have had different exposure to the Colombian armed conflict: victims (N = 54), indirect victims (N = 52), and members of the military (N = 32). Method: For the evaluation of the emotional response, a passive affective image visualization paradigm was used. Empathy was measured through the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, and aggression through the Buss–Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ). Results: Victims showed higher levels of arousal and lower levels of dominance as compared to the other groups. Differences were found in Fantasy and Personal Distress; in both scales, the military group scored lower than the other two groups. Regarding the BPAQ, subscale and total scores were higher in the group of victims. Moderation analyses indicated that the relationship between perspective-taking, arousal, and aggression varies across groups (e.g., at low arousal, a negative relationship between perspective taking and aggression was found for direct and indirect victims). Conclusions: Our results overall suggest that the Colombian armed conflict has resulted in greater emotional reactivity and a tendency to aggressiveness in victims. The lower levels of empathy observed in the military group could be related to experiences during the conflict. These findings are expected to guide public policy, including development and implementation of psychosocial programs in Colombia. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)