Reconciliation Sentiment Among Victims of Genocide in Rwanda: Conceptualizations, and Relationships with Mental Health

In two studies that were conducted in Rwanda, we have examined the conceptualizations held by people who have experienced genocide with regard to reconciliation sentiment and quantitatively assessed the relationship between reconciliation sentiment and mental health. It was found that the participants have articulated conceptualizations regarding the nature of reconciliation sentiment. These conceptualizations are consistent with the way the genocide victims personally experienced reconciliation. More importantly, one type of reconciliation sentiment (the one corresponding to a renewed capacity to live together, hear each other, work together, and to forge compromises on a daily basis) was associated with mental health.