How and Why Is Trauma Passed From One Generation to the Other

How and Why Is Trauma Passed From One Generation to the Other

Transgenerational trauma is referred to as the type of trauma that is passed through generations.  The idea is not that someone can only experience trauma, but it is that whose symptoms and behaviors are passed on to the individual’s children. Transgenerational trauma is also referred to as intergenerational trauma. A perfect example of transgenerational trauma is childhood abuse, and it causes anxiety and abuse in the ongoing generations.  Other forms of trauma include things such as extreme poverty, sudden or even violent death of a family member, a crime against a family, a parent who fought during a war, and torture of a family member (Copping 3). Historical trauma has also been categorized as a form of transgenerational trauma. Transgenerational trauma occurs within a family, while historical trauma affects many people or even a whole generation. Some common examples of historical trauma are warm natural disasters, famine, slavery, displacement, terrorism, and even war.

In addition to that, someone cannot pass the trauma itself to other generations. However, the experience that one has from the trauma and what he or she has uniquely gone through can be passed to other generations.    Some common symptoms of trauma that are passed on include anxiety and its disorders and even PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). The symptoms are passed from one generation to the next through learned behavior. Trauma has an impact on some of the ways that people become parents, and they affect the way children think and behave when they become adults.  Trauma has effects like such as the ability of a parent properly-getting attached to the child and even the activities the parent does with the child. It also affects the stories that the parents tell the child and the core beliefs, personal values, as well as the perspectives that are taught to the child by the parent. Research has discovered that even though a child has post-traumatic stress disorder, he or she is still healthy psychologically, and the child is vulnerable to develop PTSD. X & Haley also claimed that “Yes! Yes, that raping, the red-headed devil was my grandfather! That close, yes! My mother’s father! She didn’t like to speak of it, can you blame her? She said she never laid eyes on him! She was glad for that! I’m glad for her! If I could drain away his blood that pollutes my body, and pollutes my complexion, I’d do it!

Because I hate every drop of the rapist’s blood that’s in me!”  (n.d). It showed how people were traumatized due to the rape cases that existed in the past. These children experience, as well as witness something overwhelming.  There is a common study about Israeli soldiers who were the children of the people who survived the Holocaust. It was clear that they suffered from more severe PTSD after they experienced the battle. Trauma occurs in our minds due to a certain series of events. It affects people differently to mean that some may suffer consequences, and others may be okay. For most of the years, conflict was viewed to be the main culprit if trauma, and there was an increase in the sexual and physical abuse that were considered to be triggers also. Suffering from trauma is better than individual suffering from stress.

X & Haley stated that “I reflected many, many times to myself upon how the American Negro has been entirely brainwashed from ever seeing or thinking of himself, as he should, as a part of the nonwhite peoples of the world.”  The statement showed that there was intergenerational trauma due to racism, and the people were still brainwashed from the activities in the past. It was clear that there are certain symptoms of intergenerational trauma, and it always starts with the survivor of the trauma. These symptoms may be similar to those of PTSD. On other occasions, trauma is the second generation, and it is viewed to be a traumatic response to parental trauma. Transmission between the parents to the child occurs in 5 different measures. They include communication, conflict, family cohesion, parental warmth, and even parental involvement. High levels of maternal stress are also directly correlated with the functioning of the weak family and even indirect correlation with deviant behavior among children. Some of these children are directly transmitted with the trauma, and this can be done from the relationships and interactions that they have with their parents. Other children indirectly get trauma through their actions.

Trauma is different depending on the ethnicity that an individual is from and evens the type of original trauma that he was subjected to. A common source of trauma that leads to intergenerational trauma is genocide, enslavement, sexual abuse, domestic violence, and even extreme poverty. Lack of therapy could worsen the symptoms that lead to transmission. For example, the survivors of child abuse may negatively influence future generations due to past unresolved trauma. This leads to increased feelings of mistrust, isolation, and even loneliness. Descendants of slaves are faced with violence that is motivated by racism, outward racism, and even microaggressions.  Certain mitigations can be done when it comes to transgenerational trauma. Some nations like Northern Ireland have recognized the potential dangers of this type of trauma, and they are trying to stem them out. For instance, the nation has come up with traumatic events that have been funded by the European Union and the government. The centers provide psychotherapy and even counseling to help reduce the impacts of trauma in the family. Native Americans have also suffered from intergenerational trauma. It has been challenging to maintain large generalizations about non- homogenous ethnic groups. The Native Americans are most likely to suffer from mental illness and having a suicide rate that is higher than the national average. It is said that “In one sense, we were huddled in there, bonded together in seeking security and warmth and comfort from each other, and we didn’t know it. All of us—who might have probed space, or cured cancer, or built industries—were; instead, black victims of the white man’s American social system” ( X & Haley n.d). It showed how people had been traumatized from generation to generation due to diseases. It has been hard for researchers to understand the extent to which these statistics are true. Asides from that, the Native Americans still face discrimination and persecution today. X & Haley  validate the above statement by claiming that “America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem.” The trauma has continued to spread among these people since there is lack of governmental protection, suppression of culture, and even systemic oppression among the people. Intergenerational trauma has continued to affect the Native Americans up to the sixth generation.

Transgenerational trauma could also be transmitted during pregnancy.  Stress can be transmitted through the uterine environment. The gestational stage has been developmentally sensitive in a person’s lifespan.  Exposure to harmful stimuli in this stage has detrimental and long-lasting impacts. The uterine environment, with the unique blend of the cellular secretions and proteins of the mother, has been a  major source of stimuli.  Empirical evidence has shown that the trauma experienced by a mother during pregnancy affects psychology and physiology. One possible method of transmission is done through the transport vesicles that transfer the amino acids and microRNA from the uterine fluid to the fetus. These molecules go ahead and alter the expression of the gene in such a  manner that affects the developmental trajectory of the fetus (Yehuda & Amy  247).  Intergenerational trauma is treated in several ways. The first way of treating it is preventing transgenerational trauma and ensuring that the counselors know the intervention of the treatment before transmission begins, Intergenerational trauma stems from other issues, and it has been commonly unrecognized and misdiagnosed by the clinicians.  Nevertheless, there are no trauma therapy specialists in America, and this has led to a lack of treatment that has had many social, behavioral, and health issues that persist throughout the life of children.

In conclusion, intergenerational trauma is one that is handed down from one generation to the other. It is treated through counseling. It could be transmitted during pregnancy in the uterine environment. The Native Americans were the people who commonly faced the trauma. It was hard for these people to maintain large generalizations about the non- homogenous ethnic groups. They have been suffering from increasing suicidal rates and mental illnesses. Transgenerational trauma is also known as intergenerational trauma, and it causes anxiety and even mental disorder. It is caused by extreme poverty, sudden or even violent death of a family member, a crime against a family, a parent who fought during a war, and the torture of a family member.