intergenerational transmission of trauma

Trauma-related parental stress can produce neuroendocrine, epigenetic, and neuroanatomical changes in offspring as evidenced by genetic and neuroscience research ( Bowers and Yehuda, 2016 Yehuda et al., 2016). Considering the mixed research results about the intergenerational effects of parental trauma ( van IJzendoorn et al., 2003 Danieli et al., 2016), further studies of intergenerational trauma transmission and resilience are necessary. This ongoing scientific debate is an encouragement to conduct further research and identify who are the most vulnerable among the second generation ( Danieli et al., 2016). On the other hand, there is considerable evidence that parental trauma can have significant effects on offspring ( Bowers and Yehuda, 2016). (2003) has shown that effects of trauma on the second generation do not necessary result in severe clinical outcomes. There are studies revealing that offspring of Holocaust survivors can adapt quite well ( van IJzendoorn et al., 2003). However, there are still debates going on about intergenerational trauma among mental health researchers and professionals. There are findings available from studies on intergenerational effects in families of war veterans ( Dekel and Goldblatt, 2008 Dias et al., 2014), war prisoners ( Zerach and Solomon, 2016), political oppression ( Vaskeliene, 2012 Javakhishvili, 2014), refugees ( van Ee et al., 2012) and others, exploring the effects of parental trauma on the second or the third generation. Intergenerational trauma studies, once originated within Holocaust survivors’ second generation studies, are now expanding into many more areas. Inspired by research of the effects of the Holocaust on the second generation, the field of intergenerational trauma has progressed significantly during the last few decades. Further studies are needed to explore the links between parental and child sense of coherence in other samples. The study raises broader questions about the intergenerational aspects of resilience.

Our study indicates the links between parental and the second generation’s sense of coherence in the families of survivors of political violence. Post-traumatic stress symptoms were associated negatively with a sense of coherence in the second generation. A significant positive correlation between parental and adult offsprings’ sense of coherence was found. We found a high vulnerability in the second generation of the Lithuanian families of political violence survivors, with a 29% of probable PTSD in the second generation based on self-report measures. Post-traumatic stress symptoms were assessed in the second generation of survivors. Life-time traumatic experiences and sense of coherence were measured in both parents and their offspring. A total of 110 matched pairs of communist regime political violence survivors (mean age = 73.22 years) and their adult offspring (mean age = 44.65 years) participated in this study. We aimed to explore post-traumatic stress in the second generation of the Lithuanian survivors of political violence, and analyze links between parental and adult offsprings’ sense of coherence in the families exposed to political violence during the oppressive communist regime in Lithuania. Little is known about intergeneration effects on mental health in the families of survivors of political oppression of communist regime in Central and Eastern Europe. Department of Clinical and Organizational Psychology, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.In addition, she constantly took the lead in her own research process, showing herself to be a true researcher.Evaldas Kazlauskas * Danute Gailiene Ieva Vaskeliene Monika Skeryte-Kazlauskiene The institute's nomination also mentions that the student had many relevant ideas from the beginning, demonstrating her ability to think out-of-the-box.

The writing style throughout the thesis was both clear and fluent, allowing the reader to follow the reasoning. The thesis showed internal consistency and replicability through a clear description of the methodology and results. The jury was impressed by the thorough methodology and analyses that are not a standard part of the course and were carried out independently and thoroughly. In the discussion, Tamara makes relevant suggestions for both research and practice. The results of the study were examined using mediation and moderation analysis techniques. She makes the relevance of this complex topic easy to understand, even for readers less familiar with the subject or the analyses used. In her thesis, Tamara lucidly describes a study of explanatory factors in relation to intergenerational transmission of trauma.

Intergenerational transmission of trauma