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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol.8, No.3
Publication Date: March 25, 2021
DOI:10.14738/assrj.83.9057.
Linden, M., & Sandau, E. (2021). Perception of Injustice and Embitterment in the Context of Social Reference Systems. Advances in
Social Sciences Research Journal, 8(3) 496-504.
Perception of Injustice and Embitterment in the Context of Social
Reference Systems
Michael Linden
Charité University Medicine Berlin
Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Research Group
Psychosomatic Rehabilitation, Berlin, Germany
Elena Sandau
Charité University Medicine Berlin
Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Research Group
Psychosomatic Rehabilitation, Berlin, Germany
ABSTRACT
Background: The “belief in a just world” psychology has shown that people
across the world hold an inborn general view, that people should get what they
deserve, and that malbehavior should be punished. But, what is seen as unjust is
defined by social reference systems. Injustice is experienced as aggression, if not
humiliation and answered by the desire to fight back, to restore justice. If the
experience of injustice is paired with helplessness, a typical emotional response
is embitterment which is associated with the wish for revenge, social
impairment, and dysfunctional behaviors. Objective of the present study was to
study the relation of conditions of living and social reference systems with
perceptions of injustice, and rates of embitterment. Method: A convenience
sample of 139 white and 93 black citizens from Cape Town in South Africa
answered questions on their socio-economic status and changes in their lives in
the past years. They also filled in the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) to
measure psychological distress, the Differential Life Burden scale (DLB) to assess
burdens and the Posttraumatic Embitterment Disorder scale (PTED Scale), to
quantify feelings of injustice and embitterment.Results: Black South Africans saw
more positive changes than Whites over the past years, but nevertheless showed
disadvantages in regard to education, professional qualification, employment
status, and monthly income, together with significantly higher scores on the DLB,
GHQ-12, and PTED scale. When looking at single items, 66.6% of black as
compared to 45.3% of white participants reported about experiences evoking
severe feelings of injustice, 65.4% versus 40.3% about repetitive painful
memories, 53.7% versus 36.9% about an associated deterioration of well-being,
and 46.2% versus 21.6% about thoughts of revenge. After controlling for
monthly income, only the PTED score showed significant differences. Conclusion:
Results suggest that embitterment reactions are linked to social conditions, like
economic but even more so psychological factors. The results suggest that
embitterment is not only of importance in individuals but can also have a
societal meaning. This must be acknowledged in political discussions.
Key words: injustice, embitterment, humiliation
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Linden, M., & Sandau, E. (2021). Perception of Injustice and Embitterment in the Context of Social Reference Systems. Advances in Social Sciences
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URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.83.9057.
INTRODUCTION
The “belief in a just world psychology” has shown, that people across the world hold an inborn
view, that people should get what they deserve, that misbehavior should be punished, and that
injustice and breach of trust are severe negative acts. The belief in a just world is the basis of social
behavior and gives a feeling of control over the world (Lerner 1980, Hafer et al 2016, Donat et al
2018). While the belief in justice is inborn, it is depending on the social context and culture, what
is seen and experienced as unjust. The same amount of money can be experienced as highly unjust
by one person and well-grounded by the other, depending on individual aspirations and contexts.
According to the social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954), the reference group theory (Hyman,
1960), and to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (Maslow 1970, Veenhoven 1996), injustice can be
understood as violation of basic values and beliefs, of levels of aspiration, and of norms of social
reference systems (Schwartz, 1997). Injustice is experienced as aggression and humiliation
(Trumbull 2008, Crawshaw 2009, Walker & Knauer 2011, Leidner et al 2012). When injustice is
associated with helplessness, a typical emotional reaction is embitterment (Linden & Maercker
2011). This emotion is known to everybody. It is a burning emotion with the desire to fight back,
restore justice, and take revenge while, at the same time, persons feel helpless and criticize
themselves for not having prevented what happened. In greater intensity this can become a
crippling mental disorder, associated with severe psychopathological symptoms, which has been
described as “posttraumatic embitterment disorder, PTED”. (Linden et al 2007). Such patients are
obsessed with what has happened, suffer from intrusions, and harbor aggressive phantasies, and
start dysfunctional actions ignoring all negative consequences (Linden & Noack 2018). The
psychoanalyst Alexander (1966) has described this as “masochistic” reaction, which gives a feeling
of control while accepting self-destruction.
Embitterment and concomitant dysfunctional behavior can regularly be seen in individuals. In
times of societal changes, the incidences of injustice experiences can increase, as it has been
observed after the German reunification (Linden 2003). In increased rates it can also be observed
in special groups of persons like unemployed persons, immigrants, sick persons, or special
community groups, which feel unfairly treated (Linden et al 2012, Smith 1985, Muschalla et al
2018, Michaelidis & Cropley 2017, Chae et al 2018, Sensky 2010, Blom et al 2012, Harth & Nielson
2014, Siegel et al 2016, Hahlweg & Baucom 2011, Linden & Teherani 2020). Injustice and
embitterment reactions are therefore of relevance not only in the individual but also in a societal
context.
To study the relation between embitterment and injustice in the context of different societal
reference systems, we interviewed black and white South Africans. Since the end of the apartheid,
not only political freedom was implemented, but the societal rights and aspirations of the formerly
disadvantaged changed. Nevertheless, differences prevail between race groups concerning
education, health care, standard of living, household income as well as occupational status
(Nnadozie 2013, Bikam 2016, Beresford 2016). There are also differences between race groups in
respect to relative judgements, such that black South African feel that the economy, education,
health care, housing, and the ability of ordinary people to influence government has gotten better,
while most white and Indian South Africans feel that it has gotten worse (Hamel, Brodie & Morin
2005). Racial groups still have different living conditions and social reference systems. South
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Africa therefore provides a unique laboratory for addressing the question of how socially
conveyed aspirations, norms, and living conditions are related to embitterment.
METHOD
Procedure and Participants
Recruitment of a convenience sample of respondents took place in Cape Town, South Africa, in
church communities, schools, cafes, health centers, and township centers. Included were 139 white
and 93 black persons (White and African/Colored, but no Indian South Africans). Participants were
informed that the study aimed at assessing burdens in life, that their participation was fully voluntary,
and that data collection and analysis was anonymous, permitting no inference to individuals. All
participants gave their informed consent. The study was approved by the evaluation authorities of the
Institute of Psychology at the Free University of Berlin.
Measurements
Participants were asked for three introductory global assessments: “Since the end of apartheid do
you see an improvement or worsening of your (1) social status, (2) family relationships, and (3)
work situation”. Answers were given on a 5-point Likert scale from 1 = much worsening to 5 =
much improvement.
Burdens of life were measured by an adapted version of the Differential Life Burden Scale (DLB
Scale; Linden & Ritter, 2007). The DLB Scale asks for feelings which arise when thinking about 18
distinct domains of life (e.g. partnership, job, health, finances, politics, future, friends, housing).
For this study, two items were added to the original version, which ask for feelings regarding
public safety and safety in the neighborhood. Ratings are made from 1= very positive to 6 = very
negative. The DLB scale assesses the emotional experience across different aspects of life. A global
score can be calculated by using the mean total score of all items.
Reactive embitterment was assessed with the 19 item Post-Traumatic Embitterment Disorder
Scale (PTED Scale; Linden et al 2009). It starts with the sentence “During the last years there was a
severe and negative life event ...” followed by statements like “that hurt my feelings and caused
considerable embitterment”, “that I see as very unjust and unfair”, “that led to a noticeable and
persistent negative change in my mental well-being”, “that triggers me to harbour thoughts of
revenge”, “that made me unable to pursue occupational and/or family activities as before”.
The overall mental health status was assessed with the 12-item General Health Questionnaire
which covers core symptoms of mental distress, mainly from the anxiety/depression spectrum,
and has been shown to be a valid and reliable instrument to indicate mental problems across
cultures (Goldberg et al 1997). Questions such as “Have you recently been able to concentrate on
what you’re doing?” can be answered as better than usual (0), same as usual (0), less than usual
(1), or much less than usual (1).
RESULTS
Participants were in 57.8% of cases female, with no differences between races. White persons turned out
to be about 10 years older than black participants (t (230) = 5.9, p < .001).
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When asked about changes in their living condition over the past years, 64.8% of black and 28.3% of
white people said that family relations had improved (c2=46.7, p < .001). An improvement in their
social status was reported by 75.0% of black and 29.0% of white people (c2=55.0, p < .001), and
an improvement of their working condition by 62.6% of black and 25.6% of white people
(c2=33.2, p < .001). In contrast, 38% of white as compared to 26% of black respondents stated
that their work situation had deteriorated.
Still, black people showed relevant social disadvantages (Table 1). They were on average less educated
(c2= 50.4, p < .001), had a lower professional qualification (c2= 73.6, p<.001), were more often
unemployed (c2 = 8.48, p <.01), and earned a lower monthly income (c2= 58.18, p<.001).
Table 1: Characteristics of black and white participants
All
mean (sd),
%
White
mean (sd),
%
Black
m (sd),
%
***p < .001
(c2- Test or T-Test)
Female 57.8 % 58.3 % 57.0 % n.s.
Age (years, M± SD) 50.6
(± 15.1)
55.1
(± 14.3)
44.0
(± 13.7)
***
Education less than Matric 25.4 % 10.1 % 48.4 % ***
No professional qualification 75.4 % 3.9 % 56.0 % ***
Employed 60.8 % 67.6 % 50.5 % ***
Income Rand per month
0-2999 31,0 % 13.7 % 57.0 % ***
PTED scale 1.38
(± 1.12
1.09
(± 1.07
1.80
1.06 ***
DLB scale 3.00
(± 0.96
2.82
(± 0.90
3.27
1.00 ***
GHQ 3.26
(± 3.65
2.60
(± 3.50 4.33
3.65 ***
In the PTED scale 48.2% of white participants and 60.2% of black participants indicated that in
the past they had to cope with a burdensome life event that was hurtful and caused feelings of
embitterment (t = -4.95, p <.001). When looking at single items, 66.6% of black as compared to
45.3% of white participants reported about severe feelings of injustice, 65.4% versus 40.3% about
repetitive painful memories, 53.7% versus 36.9% about the deterioration of well-being, 51.6%
versus 28.0% about impairment at work or in the family, and 46.2% versus 21.6% about thoughts
of revenge. Not only the total score, but also all single items of the PTED scale showed a significant
difference between blacks and whites.
Black participants showed a significantly higher global score on the DLB scale as compared to
white participants (t = 3.38, p < .001), which is also true for all items of the DLB scale, except for
future, politics, and public and neighborhood security.
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Compared to white participants, black participants scored significantly higher on the GHQ-12-
Scale (t = -3.52, p < .001).
There was no correlation between gender and the PTED-, DLB- and GHQ-12 score in both races.
Age was negatively associated with PTED-, DLB-, and GHQ-12 score only in the sample of whites (r
= -.18, p <.05), while in blacks it was positively related to the PTED score (r =.27, p < .05), but not
to the DLB and GHQ-12 score.
There are significant correlations between PTED, DLB, GHQ and lower education and lower
income. In regard to joblessness such a correlation only exists for white participants (tab. 2). In a
MANCOVA, a significant interaction between race and employment status on the PTED score was
found (F = 7,11, p<.01, h2 = .036). Further pairwise comparisons, controlling for income and
Bonferroni adjusted show significant mean discrepancies in the PTED score (F = 10.69, p<.01, h2 =
.053) and the DLB score (F = 11.63, p<.01, h2 = .058) in the sample of whites depending on the
employment status. In the sample of blacks, being unemployed is accompanied with a slightly
higher DLB score (F = 5.93, p < .051, h2 = .030), however, the PTED score between unemployed
and employed black participants is the same (F = .001, p=.978, h2 = .000). White participants score
significantly lower than black participants when both are employed (F = 11.97, p <.01, h2 = .059).
Table 2: Correlation of PTED, DLB and GHQ with work status
PTED DLB GHQ
Education white -.27** -.26** -.16*
black -.27** -.30** -.20*
Income white -.31*** -.29** -.19*
black -.27** -.33** -.29**
Jobless white -.37*** -.33*** -.24**
black -.06 -.36** -.15
* p< .05, **p< .01, ***p> .001
When looking at the global rating of changes in the living condition, improvements in the social
status is negatively related to the PTED score and burdens in life as measured with the DLB in
both races, while only for whites, there is a relation with better mental health in the GHQ. As to
changes in the family, they are significantly related with the DLB, with no correlations with the
GHQ, and small correlations with the PTED score only in whites. In regard to positive changes in
the work situation, there are similar negative correlations with the PTED, DLB, and GHQ score for
both races alike (tab. 3).
Table 3: Spearman correlations between rating of change in different areas of life during recent
years and PTED, DLB, and GHQ.
PTED-score DLB-score GHQ-score
Improvement in white black white black white black
Social status -.28** -.17* -.46** -.27** -.25** -.02
Family status -.19* -.01 -.32** -.36** -.10 -.06
Work status -.27** -.23* -.46** -.48** -.21** -.20*