The Relationship of Acculturation to Historical Loss Awareness, Institutional Betrayal, and the Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma in the American Indian Experience

Abstract

The terms historical trauma and intergenerational transmission of trauma have been used interchangeably in the literature, yet may be theoretically distinct. The confusion in nomenclature may mask different underlying mechanisms for understanding trauma. The current study applies institutional betrayal trauma theory as a means for understanding awareness of historical losses and examines the intergenerational transmission of trauma through family systems. In a diverse sample ( N = 59) of American Indians, we find support for the idea that institutional betrayal may be at the heart of historical loss awareness. The more participants in the current study were acculturated, or identified with White culture, the less they were aware of historical losses. For the entire sample, regardless of acculturation, we found that family history of boarding school experiences, having parents and grandparents who lived in boarding schools, predicted interpersonal childhood trauma but not noninterpersonal childhood trauma.