Betekenis als een missie: zingeving na oorlogs- en vredesoperaties

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine the significance of meaning in a sample of veterans who were deployed during various war and peacekeeping operations. A cognitive perspective was chosen to explore how veterans make sense of their war zone experiences and find personal significance in these events by using a sequential explanatory design. Results of this study showed that the majority of Dutch veterans reported more positive than negative appraisals of theirmilitary deployment, reflecting self enhancement when looking back on their war and peacekeeping experiences. Qualitative findings supported this in more detail by showing that former peacekeepers to Cambodia returned from the mission with meaningful memories of their service. The search for meaning can be seen as an adaptive mechanism to restore a positive perception of the self, others and the world after facing threatening events. By making threatening experiences understandable within a cognitive framework, veterans can regain a sense of control over the emotional impact of the experience.