The Intergenerational transmission of trauma: When children bear their father's traumatic past

Abstract

This article examines of the aftermath of war captivity as implicated in the next (second) generation. Capitalizing on findings from a nearly four-decade and four-wave longitudinal study, we present cumulative evidence regarding the psychological and interpersonal ramifications of war captivity for former Israeli prisoners of war (ex-POWs), and underscore the intergenerational effects of both parents — fathers’/ex-POWs’ experiences and their spouses — on their adult offspring. Taking into consideration the relational context of the family system, the article addresses post-traumatic phenomena manifesting among the offspring as impacted by their fathers’ trauma and post-traumatic stress symptoms, their mothers’ secondary traumatic stress, and the complex interaction of familial sub-systems specifically parental functioning. As not all offspring of the traumatized are equally affected. We also assessed offspring characteristics that may render some of them vulnerable or resilient. These included: (1) gender, (2) “The Big Five” personality traits: Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism (3) and differentiation of self. Findings indicate the strong intergenerational effects of trauma, particularly on sons; the mediating effects of parental PTSD; and the role of the offspring's personality characteristics. Clinical implications of the findings are discussed.