Governmental betrayal trauma: When failures of state protection undermine public trust and mental health

This study examined governmental betrayal trauma, defined as the experience of being harmed or insufficiently protected by the state, among Israeli civilians during the Israel-Hamas war. Drawing on institutional betrayal theory, we investigated how trust in government, including competence, benevolence, and integrity, and system justification relate to governmental betrayal trauma and whether system justification mediates the association between trust in government and governmental betrayal trauma. A convenience sample of 832 Israeli adults completed self-report measures, adapted to the wartime context. Structural equation modeling revealed that higher trust in governmental competence and benevolence, but not integrity, was associated with lower governmental betrayal trauma. System justification was positively related to governmental benevolence and integrity, but not competence, and in turn was negatively associated with governmental betrayal trauma. The association between integrity and governmental betrayal trauma was fully mediated by system justification, whereas benevolence showed a partly mediated effect. These findings identify governmental betrayal trauma as a distinct source of harm and extend betrayal trauma theory from interpersonal and organizational settings to the state level. During crises, state protection failures may be felt as betrayal, akin to a caregiver who fails to safeguard a child or, worse, inflicts harm directly upon civilians. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).