Natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tsunamis, and earthquakes.

Economic instability, recession, depression, or extreme poverty.

Violent crimes, like assault, harassment, rape, or sexual abuse.

Some tragedies and crimes that often result in intergenerational trauma include: Anyone related to someone with the traumatic experience - whether in the same generation, immediate family, or subsequent generations - can experience symptoms.

Transgenerational trauma has been identified in the descendants of slaves, refugees, and children of Holocaust survivors. Who is affected by transgenerational trauma?Ī person doesn't need to directly experience trauma in order to be affected by it generationally. Even if they've never experienced the shock, they've learned to be afraid of it. It can have the effect of drawing the community closer, but the legacy of trauma is the glue. Mental health care is dependent on trust and safety, and having to justify your trauma erodes the relationship.

Systemic racism and over-policing cause African-American families to raise their children differently, have different conversations, behave differently, and even dress differently due to the fear passed from generation to generation. This is consistent with findings in the Black community, where people tend to prefer working with Black healthcare providers. As a result, studies indicate that Armenians tend to prefer care from Armenian mental health professionals. For example, the Armenian Genocide in the early 20th century went largely unrecognized by the Turkish government. In many cases, generational and historical trauma are related. Acknowledging the depth and seriousness of the traumatic event makes it possible to pursue treatment, but comes with the risk of being unable to separate past from present experience. Often related to collective trauma, the affected community might internalize the trauma as part of the group identity. Historical trauma results from the collective experience of a community or generation, such as genocide, economic depression, or war. Historical trauma isn't quite the same as transgenerational trauma - although it is related. However, trouble arises, as always, when a useful biological impulse begins to interfere with our everyday lives - especially when you’re not aware of where it came from. The biological impulse to survive and protect our offspring is a strong one, and this type of transgenerational effect makes a certain kind of evolutionary sense. It makes sense that we’d transfer the experiences that we’ve had to our children in this way. These mice “passed down” the fear of the smell to their children and grandchildren, even when the next generation had never been exposed to it. In a notable study, mice were exposed to a certain smell, followed by an electric shock. Epigenetics studies changes in the traits that are passed from one generation to the next that aren’t the result of changes in DNA. It's related to the biological study of epigenetics, which was first formalized as a field of research in the early 19th century. While researchers don't fully understand multigenerational trauma, it seems that it changes not only the way parents raise and relate to their children, but how certain genes are expressed in future generations. Also known as intergenerational trauma, it can show up biologically, socially, mentally, or emotionally. Transgenerational trauma is when the experiences of parents affect the development of their children - and sometimes even their grandchildren. This article delves into exactly what intergenerational and historical trauma is, who is most likely to be affected, and why it’s so important to get treatment. Without treatment, transgenerational trauma can continue to affect us, passing triggers from parent to child for generations. This phenomenon is known as transgenerational trauma, and it’s particularly common in certain communities. But as it turns out, there's a biological and psychological component to how this happens. We know that our parent’s experiences make them who they are, and in turn, they make us who we are. Who is affected by transgenerational trauma? How are intergenerational and historical trauma different?

Intergenerational trauma