Intergenerational trauma research3/31/2024 ![]() 1 Moreover, studies show structural racism and cumulative trauma in the United States as fundamental drivers of the intergenerational transmission of depression. Aboriginal Canadians whose parents and grandparents were in the abusive residential school system had increased suicidal thoughts and attempts. 1 Additionally, Armenian genocide survivor descendants reported persistent distress, helplessness, guilt, and shame. Third-generation studies have shown that grandchildren of Holocaust survivors showed higher state and trait anger, perceived others and themselves less positively, and were rated by their peers as having lower socio-emotional functioning. Studies show that some children of Holocaust survivors experience sleep disturbance and nightmares in which they are chased, persecuted, tortured, or annihilated as if they were re-living the Second World War, although they may not yet have been born at the time. Symptoms and health outcomes that result from intergenerational trauma include: sleep problems, mental health issues such as depression and suicide, and physical health problems such as heart disease. In some cases, it can be difficult to measure to what extent communities are affected by historical trauma or a current continuation of discrimination and conflict. In particular, whether or not the descendants of those who experienced significant traumas such as the Holocast, slavery, and war remain in contact with a potentially traumatic, unstable, or oppressive environment appears to impact the effects of intergenerational trauma. The symptoms of intergenerational trauma can vary significantly and are influenced either positively or negatively by one’s living environment. How Does Intergenerational Trauma Affect Us? Trauma can also be transferred through encoding in the DNA, as traumatic experiences can affect our genome that we inherit from our parents. The symptoms of intergenerational trauma can be linked to parents’ or grandparents’ behavior and parenting approaches since trauma symptoms can affect how they raise their children. Systemic racism, discrimination, or oppressionīoth social and biological factors can influence the effects of intergenerational trauma.The death, incarceration, or another type of loss of a parent.Global or national crises, such as COVID-19, the 2008 financial crash, and the Great Depression.Genocide and ethnic cleansing, including the Rwandan Genocide, the Holocaust, the Armenian Genocide, and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.Forced migration (recent examples include forced migration from Afghanistan, Syria, Iraq, Myanmar, Somalia, and Ethiopia).Cultural genocide (for example, the removal of language, culture, and traditions experienced by the Indigenous peoples of North and South America, Australia, and New Zeland).In addition to the common causes of trauma, such as abuse, neglect, assault, and natural disasters, intergenerational trauma is often caused by significant historical or current events many millions of people still experience. There is a wide range of events and experiences that can cause intergenerational trauma. It is not known how many generations this could affect. Intergenerational trauma can cause symptoms, behavioral patterns, reactions, and psychological effects from a trauma that was experienced by previous generations. Intergenerational trauma occurs when genetic information relating to a traumatic event is passed to future generations, often from parent to child. This theory or spiritual belief has been posited in the medical community for a long time but was not backed by hard evidence until recently, when the power of trauma to change DNA and pass on certain traits through generations has become more widely researched and understood. The toll of these experiences, whether individual or large-scale, can reverberate across generations. Some people or communities face multiple experiences that cause complex trauma. Traumatic experiences can take many forms, and a traumatic experience for one person may not be traumatic for another. “Your pain didn’t start with you, but it can end with you.”
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