Holocaust intergenerational trauma4/13/2024 ![]() ![]() Many Holocaust survivors may well suffer from prolonged unresolved mourning/trauma (12). In attachment theory, unresolved mourning/trauma is indicated by disoriented thought processes about attachment experiences owing to lack of resolution of mourning in case of loss of a close attachment figure or lack of resolution of other traumatic experiences (12, 13). The main focus of attachment theory is on the making and breaking of relationships, and it focuses on the determinants and effects of affective bonds between children and their caregivers and on the separation or loss of attachment figures (11). From an evolutionary perspective, attachment is conceived as a universal bias in infants to remain in the proximity of a protective caregiver. We propose that the conceptual framework of attachment theory may shed new light on this controversy. Whereas clinically based reports point to intergenerational transmission of traumatic experiences, more controlled studies have not found much psychopathology (1), except when second-generation subjects were confronted with life-threatening situations (9, 10). Also, clinically based reports on children of Holocaust survivors versus more controlled research paradigms are inconsistent in their findings. ![]() Similarly, posttraumatic long-term effects were reported in a more recent nonclinical Holocaust-related study (8) showing that elderly survivors of the Holocaust suffered from the Persian Gulf War to a larger extent than other subjects. This is consistent with existing non-Holocaust-related trauma research, which provides evidence that people who undergo extreme stress are left more vulnerable to future adversity (5– 7). Such conclusions run contrary to other claims, stemming mostly from clinical observations, that the Holocaust had a profound effect on its victims, leaving many survivors with various psychological or marital problems (2– 4). Generally, most large-scale and well-designed epidemiological studies do not show serious psychological problems in Holocaust survivors or their families (1). First, do Holocaust survivors still show marks of their traumatic experiences, even after more than 50 years? Second, was the trauma passed on to the daughters in the next generation (1)? The existence of long-term psychological effects of the Holocaust on survivors and their offspring still divide the scientific literature (1). CONCLUSIONS: Holocaust survivors may have been able to protect their daughters from their war experiences, although they themselves still suffer from the effects of the Holocaust.ĭuring the Holocaust, extreme trauma was inflicted on children who experienced it, raising two questions that are central to the current report. Also, the traumatic effects did not appear to transmit across generations. RESULTS: Holocaust survivors (now grandmothers) showed more signs of traumatic stress and more often lack of resolution of trauma than comparison subjects, but they were not impaired in general adaptation. First, do survivors of the Holocaust still show marks of their traumatic experiences, even after more than 50 years? Second, was the trauma passed on to the next generation? METHOD: Careful matching of Holocaust survivors and comparison subjects was employed to form a research study design with three generations, including 98 families with a grandmother, a mother, and an infant, who engaged in attachment- and trauma-related interviews, questionnaires, and observational procedures. Two questions were central to the current investigation. OBJECTIVE: During the Holocaust, extreme trauma was inflicted on children who experienced it. ![]()
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