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Research

We promote research

  • on social cognition to identify environmental and neural-genetic factors that explain individual differences in how people act and think in the context of war. We are particularly interested in individual differences in (1) the perception of threat posed by out-groups (e.g., in Western nations: refugees and Muslims); (2) vulnerability versus resilience to political radicalization; and (3) psychological attributes that promote escalation of conflict (e.g., desire for retribution, hatred) versus those that promote peace-making and (re) integration (e.g., forgiveness, compassion).
  • on war trauma and healing to identify environmental and neural-genetic factors that predict individual differences in mental health outcomes (vulnerability, resilience, growth) following war trauma exposure among military veterans, refugees, women and children, and former child soldiers. Understanding the factors that predict these varying responses can help identify vulnerable individuals early (when interventions are presumably most effective), which would be critical both for clinicians and policy-makers. We will also conduct research to assess the effectiveness of commonly used interventions in treatment responses, with a focus on the discovery of psycho-social, epigenetic, genetic and neural vulnerability and resilience markers that can facilitate matching patients to treatment options.