Intergenerational trauma, identity, and well-being: How the trauma of the Troubles conflict has impacted social identities in Northern Ireland.

The history of political violence in Northern Ireland (NI), known as 'The Troubles' has left a legacy of distrust and poor community relations between those who identify as Unionists and Nationalists. The Social Identity Model of Traumatic Identity Change (SIMTIC) shows that trauma can strengthen social identities and belonging, which then alleviate the negative effects of trauma on well-being (mediation model). Applying this model to the trauma of the Troubles, this project will investigate the role of identity in trauma and well-being in three ways. First, focusing on an older generation of parents in NI who might have experienced the Troubles first-hand, this project will analyse whether those with stronger identities might respond differently to traumatic experiences (moderation model), comparing it to the well-established mediation model. Second, less is known about how parents' identities can inform their offspring's traumas. Thus, focusing on parent and young person dyads, a second aim is, via dyadic analyses, to examine how parental exposure to political violence and their identities affects their offspring's traumas, identity, and well-being. Third, as a novel approach to analyse the role of identity in trauma and well-being, the project will seek to identify different subpopulations of parents and young persons who exhibit specific types of traumas and social identifications via latent profile analyses and analyse whether these subpopulations differ in terms of well-being. Overall, with three novel questions, this project will contribute to the growing research on identity, trauma, and well-being.