Traumatic events and generational differences in assumptions about a just world.

INDIVIDUALS' PERCEPTIONS OF THE WORLD as benevolent, trustworthy, and just influence their reactions to the events that befall them and others (JanoffBulman, 1992; Lemer, 1977). Variables found to affect such beliefs include ethnicity (Calhoun & Cann, 1994) and nationality (Furnham, 1993), with gender having a weak effect (Furnham, 1985, 1993; Janoff-Bulman, 1989; Smith & Green, 1984). The relationship of age to these beliefs has been examined infrequently, possibly as a result, in part, of the heavy reliance on college students as research participants (Calhoun & Cann, 1994; Furnham, 1993). The available data suggest that older Americans tend to be more likely to believe the world is just (Forest, 1995), but general cross-sectional investigations may not offer sufficient control for the impact of differences in cultural milieu (Furnham, 1993). The occurrence of events such as the experience of an assault or the loss of a loved one can reduce the individual's belief in the world as just or benevolent (Forest, 1995; Schwartzberg & Janoff-Bulman, 1991). An unanswered question concerns the degree to which reported age differences in beliefs about benevolence and justice occur when control is exercised on the influence of variations in cultural contexts and on the experience of stressful life events. Participants in our study were 223 American adults, 76 men and 147 women. Sixty-seven percent were single, 28% were married, and the remaining 10% were divorced or widowed. Seventy percent were Protestants, 13% were Catholic, 8% reported they had no religious affiliation, and the remaining participants report-