Long torn by ill fate? Wounded collective identity in light of a survey in Hungary

Abstract

The primary aim of the paper is to explore the relationship between the trauma ‑focused self ‑description of Hungarian history and other factors such as sense of regional betweenness, memory, well ‑being or even the respondent’s personality (sympathy for authoritarian personality traits, political orientation, religiosity). In the current study, network analysis is used to explore the elective affinities between the above ‑mentioned variables. This method – rather than focusing on linear relationships – concentrates on interactions and feedback loops to better understand this social phenomenon. Our results show that the outlined factors form a coherent and highly stable belief system that can only be changed by significant influences.

Keywords

• historical trauma
• collective identity
• narrative
• network analysis