| This study examined the psychological effects of the 2006 Tule Lake Pilgrimage on 53 Japanese American former internees and their direct descendents. Tule Lake was a concentration camp that incarcerated Japanese Americans during World War II. Participants filled out surveys that measured affect states, as measured by the Multiple Adjective Affect Check List-Revised (MAACL-R), and subjective well-being, as measured by the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), before, after, and three weeks following the pilgrimage.;Contrary to literature suggesting that participants would feel a greater sense of self-esteem and positive affect (Loo, 1993), results found that participants felt significantly more hostile feelings after the pilgrimage compared to before the pilgrimage. The results may reflect adaptive use of anger in allowing participants to confront the injustices of the past and mitigate the impact of negative emotions related to internment through its disclosure. The increased hostility may also be symptomatic of difficulty coping with a traumatic past. Results from a small sample size found a significant increase in depressive feelings three weeks after the pilgrimage compared to before the pilgrimage.;Former internees and those participants who came with family experienced a significant increase in negative affect states after the pilgrimage compared to before the pilgrimage. In contrast, descendents of former internees experienced a significant increase in positive affect states after the pilgrimage compared to before the pilgrimage. The difference between former internees and their descendents' reactions has implications about the dynamic between former internees and their descendents, which are further discussed.;Those participants with a personal or family history with renouncing their citizenship during internment showed a trend in decreased anxiety after the pilgrimage compared to before the pilgrimage. In addition, female participants reported having significantly reduced feelings of sensation seeking after the pilgrimage compared to before the pilgrimage, while male participants reported having significantly decreased anxiety after the pilgrimage compared to before the pilgrimage. The implications of the findings are discussed. |
