Psychological factors of social exclusion experience

The study is devoted to revealing the psychological factors of social exclusion experience. To bring to light the basic components we used the factor analysis. It educed four factors of social exclusion experience. Moreover, the research demonstrated that social exclusion leaded to a whole network of vulnerability to stress symptoms and to the probable second exclusion. The first component was called a factor of person's vulnerability. In this article, from the point of view of system approach, the person's vulnerability is interpreted as a structured network of evident symptoms (e.g., empirical indications), as the effect of person's response to traumatic stress event of social exclusion experience. Hereafter, appeared structured symptom network will influence both the system state and its behavior on the whole, and, with high probability, a person will be vulnerable for the next stress events. It, without suitable therapeutic intervention, may determinate the intensive development of pathological processes on the level of body and mental functioning. The second component was called a conformism factor. In this article conformism is interpreted as a psychological protection that is used to cope with social exclusion experience. A person who has experienced the social exclusion behaves in ways to fit, to make passive institutionalization, agrees with opinions and views, which exist within the desirable social group. The person unconditionally follows the behavior patterns, which have the biggest bandwagon effect power, and he refuses his own viewpoint. The person loses his authenticity, and in future it may become a reason for existential crisis. The third component was called the outside directed aggression factor. A person, who experiences social exclusion, feels disappointment about social group members' behavior. This feeling is probably correlated with cognitive depreciation of social group importance for satisfaction of person's actual needs, and it is correlated with a desire to make aggressive actions towards the social group. The fourth component was called the inside directed aggression factor. One, who experiences the social exclusion, may transfer destructive activities from outside interaction with social groups into inside interaction with himself. Interrupted connections with one's own inner experiences through addicted behavior (indirect auto-aggression) and self-damaging behavior (direct auto-aggression) are the ways of realization of such destructive activity. In conclusion, it is important to note that the social exclusion is the preconditioned and natural product of stable social group cohesion. It is not always useful, however, according to pathological processes within excluding and excluded social group members, but it is important to focus on psychological and social processes during the work with a person, who experiences the social exclusion. The analysis of such processes is important to pay attention to actual social exclusion experience for individuals and social groups. This experience makes and opens a potential highway for strategic interventions, directed on social inclusion advancement.

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