4/11/2024 0 Comments Intergenerational trauma symptoms![]() ![]() Although the literature on intergenerational trauma is massive and still expanding (for reviews and meta-analyses, see 11, 21, 22, the topic remains rife with controversies and unanswered but important research questions. Various mechanisms for such trauma transmission processes have been suggested, including psychodynamic explanations 16, vicarious trauma models 17, learning and modeling 13, parenting and family environment influences 18, 19, and even biological hypotheses 10, 20. This process has been observed not only in the case of Holocaust trauma but also among children of war veterans 13, families of refugees 14, and even families in which one parent was exposed to childhood maltreatment and abuse 15. The term transmission of trauma has been defined in various ways 11 but was originally understood as the process of passing specific, trauma-related thoughts, feelings, and behaviors from trauma survivors to their offspring 5, 12. These studies on second-generation Holocaust survivors started a new, interdisciplinary line of research focused on whether and how the consequences of surviving trauma may be transmitted from one generation to another (for a review, see 11). ![]() More specifically, numerous subsequent studies have found that Holocaust offspring were at increased risk of mental health problems, predominantly posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, as well as heightened prevalence of health problems like cancer, heart disease, and chronic pain 7, 8, 9, 10. ![]() 1 observed the problem of intergenerational trauma among descendants of Holocaust survivors who did not experience the Holocaust directly but were secondarily traumatized by parental traumatic history and the related negative emotional atmosphere in their family of origin 2. ![]() It has been more than half a century since Rakoff et al. Furthermore, it highlights the moderating effect of knowledge of family history in this mechanism and the need to share family histories with subsequent generations. Our study adds to the literature on intergenerational trauma by highlighting the importance of evaluating embodiment in understanding the mechanisms of trauma transmission. In addition, PTSD level mediated the relationships between those adaptational styles and embodiment intensity that mediation was additionally moderated by a lack of knowledge about WWII trauma among ancestors in our participants. We observed a positive relationship between all survivors’ post-trauma adaptational styles and current levels of PTSD symptoms among participants. Participants filled out the Danieli Inventory of Multigenerational Legacies of Trauma, the knowledge about traumatic World War II experiences in the family questionnaire, the Posttraumatic Diagnostic Scale-5, and the Experience of Embodiment Scale. The study was conducted among a representative sample of 1598 adult Poles obtained from an external company. We also sought to investigate whether the level of knowledge about WWII trauma among ancestors could moderate that association. The main aim of this study was to investigate the long-lasting influences of World War II (WWII) trauma in a national sample of Poles, based on Danieli’s (1998) survivors’ post-trauma adaptational styles (fighter, numb, victim) and their link with current post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and embodiment level among participants. ![]()
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