Secondary traumatization among ex-POWs' adult children: the mediating role of differentiation of the self.

Abstract

The aversive impact of combat and parents' combat-induced posttraumatic stress disorder on young children has been examined in a few studies. However, the long-term toll of war captivity on secondary traumatization (ST) and the mediating role of differentiation of the self remain unknown. This study examined ST symptoms and differentiation of the self (DS) among adult children of former prisoners of war (ex-POW's children) who were compared with adult children of comparable veterans (controls' children). Furthermore, I examined the mediating role of DS dimensions in the association between exposure to stress and ST symptoms. Participants were Israeli ex-POW's children (n = 98) and controls' children (n = 90), whose fathers fought in the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Results showed that ex-POW's children reported a higher number of ST symptoms and lower levels of emotional cutoff differentiation compared with controls' children. Emotional cutoff was also found to mediate the association between research group and ST symptoms. Among ex-POW's children, emotional cutoff and emotional reactivity dimensions mediated the association between exposure to stress stemming from fathers' behaviors and ST symptoms. Forty years after the war ended, the experience of living with ex-POWs is associated with ex-POW's children ST symptoms.