The Justice Motive as a Personal Resource: Dealing with Challenges and Critical Life Events

Beginning with the assumption that a justice motive exists, the author posits that belief in a just world influences the behavior of most people most of the time. This is true for all people of all ages and in all areas of life, for those struggling with their daily tasks as well as for those coping with a critical life event. An individual's belief in a just world is a necessary condition for a person's sense of fairness and mediates its adaptive effect on mental health.