Event centrality and secondary traumatization among Holocaust survivors' offspring and grandchildren: A three-generation study

Intergenerational effects of the Holocaust following the October 7 attack in Israel

Descendants of traumatized individuals may exhibit latent vulnerability, meaning they are typically well-functioning yet more vulnerable to stressful and traumatic events. Nevertheless, such vulnerability is not omnipresent, and some descendants are more prone than others to develop posttraumatic disorder (PTSD) and other psychopathologies. Ancestral PTSD was suggested as an aggravating factor for intergenerational effects. The current study examined whether Holocaust descendants (i.e., children and grandchildren of Holocaust survivors) show unique posttraumatic reactions to the October 7 terrorist attack and the ensuing war and whether parental/grandparental PTSD exacerbated these reactions. A web-based random sample of 582 Israeli Jews completed questionnaires a year before the October 7 terrorist attack (Wave 1, 2022) and two months after the attack and into the war (Wave 3, December 2023). Results showed that pre-war probable PTSD rates were similar across the study groups (10.4% and 11.5% among Holocaust descendants and descendants of those not directly exposed to the Holocaust, respectively). In contrast, probable PTSD rates during the war mainly increased among Holocaust descendants (20.9% and 11.5% among Holocaust and comparison descendants, respectively). Higher probable PTSD rates were especially noticeable in Wave 3 among Holocaust descendants who reported that their parents/grandparents had probable PTSD even after controlling Wave 1 probable PTSD, background characteristics, and levels of traumatic exposure. The findings have important implications for understanding the intergenerational effects of trauma as they strongly support the latent vulnerability hypothesis three generations after ancestral trauma, and further suggest that ancestral PTSD plays a major role in aggravating such vulnerability.

Parents' Vicarious Event Centrality of Their Child's Interpersonal Trauma

This study aimed to understand parents' process of centering their child's interpersonal traumatic event in their lives post-disclosure. Specifically, how it informed their understanding of themselves, their lives, and the world. This phenomenon of centering a traumatic event in one's life is termed event centrality and has not been previously applied to qualitative research or this population. Participants were 17 primary caregivers (14 maternal caregivers and 3 paternal caregivers) of 27 victims of child interpersonal trauma (14 males and 13 females) located in Canada. The age of participants ranged from 35 to 75 years (average = 54.5 years) and majority self-identified as Caucasian (70.6%). Grounded theory was used to analyze the data. The resulting model was labeled Vicarious Event Centralization and Decentralization, indicating that parents center their child's interpersonal trauma across many areas of their lives, which orients them to focus on protecting and healing the child. After the child's functioning improves, parents are then able to reorient to life beyond the trauma, representing decentralization. The grounded theory consists of three phases: Centralization, Decentralization Gateway, and Decentralization. These results illustrate that parents' centralization of the trauma may be an adaptive mechanism that promotes child recovery, which in turn allows parents to begin to decentralize the trauma and move toward recovery. This study supports that parents are affected by their child's trauma in a myriad of ways and require unique services to address their needs. This study can help practitioners understand the post-trauma experience for parents and target areas likely to increase recovery.

Holocaust centrality, anxiety, and other risk factors associated with terror threat salience among descendants of Holocaust survivors

The study examined risk factors for sensitivity to terror threats among descendants of Holocaust survivors (Holocaust G1) during a significant rise in terrorist attacks in Israel. We examined the association of the number of familial Holocaust G1, trauma exposure, probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety symptoms, and Holocaust centrality with terror threat salience (TTS) in children and grandchildren of Holocaust G1 (Holocaust G2; G3). A web-based national sample included 297 Holocaust G2 (Mage=62.95, SD=10.25), 224 comparison G2 (Mage=61.79, SD=10.13), 379 Holocaust G3 (Mage=34.02, SD=8.65) and 171 comparison G3 (Mage=33.55, SD=8.26). Participants completed questionnaires on background characteristics, Holocaust background, trauma exposure, probable PTSD, anxiety symptoms, Holocaust centrality, and TTS. Findings showed that Holocaust G2 and G3 reported higher Holocaust centrality and TTS relative to comparisons, and Holocaust G3 reported higher levels of anxiety than comparison G3. The number of Holocaust G1, background characteristics, Holocaust centrality, and anxiety symptoms were associated with TTS in G2 and G3. Probable PTSD and trauma exposure were also associated with TTS in G2 and G3, respectively. Results highlight Holocaust centrality and anxiety among the factors associated with an increased preoccupation with terror threats in Holocaust descendants. Practitioners should implement interventions focusing on these factors, particularly at times of increased terrorism.

Intergenerational Transmission of Ethnoracial Historical Trauma in the United States

Throughout time, ethnoracial groups have endured a range of traumatic experiences as historically marginalized members of the United States. The consequences of these experiences have been referred to as historical trauma (HT): a collective trauma, inflicted on a group of people who share a specific identity, that has psychological, physical, and social impacts on succeeding generations. In this review, we examine the literature on HT in relation to US ethnoracial groups by defining HT, providing a background for its development, and describing critiques of the concept. We then review the literature on HT in relation to Indigenous Americans, African Americans, and Asian Americans. For each group, we address the nature of HT, the transmission of HT and its impacts, and healing strategies. We conclude with a summary of the benefits, limitations, and complexities of HT research as well as recommendations for future work in this area.

The developmental origins of health and disease and intergenerational inheritance: a scoping review of multigenerational cohort studies

Epidemiologic research has increasingly acknowledged the importance of developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) and suggests that prior exposures can be transferred across generations. Multigenerational cohorts are crucial to verify the intergenerational inheritance among human subjects. We carried out this scoping review aims to summarize multigenerational cohort studies' characteristics, issues, and implications and hence provide evidence to the DOHaD and intergenerational inheritance. We adopted a comprehensive search strategy to identify multigenerational cohorts, searching PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science databases from the inception of each dataset to June 20th, 2022, to retrieve relevant articles. After screening, 28 unique multigenerational cohort studies were identified. We classified all studies into four types: population-based cohort extended three-generation cohort, birth cohort extended three-generation cohort, three-generation cohort, and integrated birth and three-generation cohort. Most cohorts (n = 15, 53%) were categorized as birth cohort extended three-generation studies. The sample size of included cohorts varied from 41 to 167,729. The study duration ranged from two years to 31 years. Most cohorts had common exposures, including socioeconomic factors, lifestyle, and grandparents' and parents' health and risk behaviors over the life course. These studies usually investigated intergenerational inheritance of diseases as the outcomes, most frequently, obesity, child health, and cardiovascular diseases. We also found that most multigenerational studies aim to disentangle genetic, lifestyle, and environmental contributions to the DOHaD across generations. We call for more research on large multigenerational well-characterized cohorts, up to four or even more generations, and more studies from low- and middle-income countries.

Parental Self-Efficacy Among Israeli Older Adults

Parental self-efficacy (PSE) is a central aspect of parenting research. Although parenting continues in older ages, few studies have focused on PSE among older adults. In line with the parenting determinant model, the study examined the associations between psychological distress, social support, loneliness, and PSE in older age.The study used a quantitative cross-sectional survey, including 362 Israeli parents age 65 years and above. Participants were asked to complete questionnaires of psychological distress, social support, loneliness, PSE, and background information.Results revealed that higher PSE was associated with lower psychological distress, higher social support, and a lower sense of loneliness in older adults. The research model explained 36.9 per cent of the variance in PSE among older adults.Mental state and social conditions are important for PSE of older adults; therefore, professionals should ensure the availability of diverse solutions to enable, maintain, and promote well-being through social and familial engagement in this population.

Clinically relevant historical trauma sequelae: A systematic review

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this systematic review (SR) was to present the current state of research on historical trauma, and the topics closely related to its semantic space that include intergenerational trauma, collective trauma, and extended cultural bodily and mental responses, in order to identify gaps in the literature that need to be addressed.

METHODS

A search of empirical studies from 1990 to 2022 was performed via Scopus, Web of Science, MEDLINE, EBSCOhost-PsychInfo, and Embase, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist.

RESULTS

The initial search yielded 1012 studies, 52 of which were included in the current review. The results show that the historical trauma concept has a high potential for new research in the field of Global Mental Health. Gaps in the literature were identified, including a lack of standard features of historical trauma, and assessments of historical trauma in additional contexts than its original fields of application with Indigenous Americans.

CONCLUSION

Although the introduction of the concept of historical trauma was intended to fill the gap of trauma-related difficulties not covered by the criteria of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), this concept needs further scientific refinement.

Wellbeing and national identity in three generations of Czech and Slovak Holocaust survivors

Subjective wellbeing (SWB) is an important factor of global adjustment. Intergenerational satisfaction in seriously traumatized people has not been studied so far in homogenous populations of Central and Eastern Europe. This study focuses on the SWB in three generations of survivors living in the Czech Republic and Slovakia after World War II (WWII). The focal groups were Holocaust survivors (ages 71–95, n = 47), Holocaust survivors’ children (ages 30–73, n = 86), and their grandchildren (ages 15–48, n = 88), and they were compared to aged-matched groups without Holocaust history. The first and second generation of Holocaust survivors scored significantly lower than the comparison groups in wellbeing, as measured using the Schwartz Outcome Scale-10 (SOS-10). There was no significant difference in life satisfaction in any of the three generations. Within the focal group, identification as Jewish or as also Jewish was comparable in all three generations of Holocaust survivors (74% in the first, 79% in the second, and 66% in the third generation). Holocaust survivors declaring Jewish identity reported lower SWB compared to survivors declaring other than Jewish identity. The focal group generated more national identities than comparisons. The outcomes are discussed in the context of the history of Central and Eastern Europe.