| The Effect of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder on the Second Generation |
| There is a growing body of
evidence that PTSD can be transmitted to family members and passed down to
the next generation. The first scientific evidence came with the study
of children of Holocaust survivors. However, reference to such a
phenomenon can be found in the Old Testament. Exodus (20:5) makes
reference to the sins of the fathers being passed down to the third and
fourth generations. Today, researchers believe that it can take three
to four generations for the effects of trauma to dilute out of a family. This "hand me down hurt" or "intergenerational transmission of trauma" is a complex process that most likely involves behavior patterns acquired from the parents, exposure to the parents' stories and biologic vulnerability. The symptoms are similar to those seen in primary PTSD and vary in severity. Researchers recommend that if an individual suspects he or she may suffer from the secondary effects of trauma, a therapist familiar with PTSD should be sought. _______________________ References 1. Combat-related posttraumatic stress disorder among second generation holocaust survivors: preliminary findings. Zahava Solomon, Moshe Kotler, and Mario Mikulincer. American Journal of Psychiatry. July 1988. 2. Secondary trauma: Assessing inter-generational transmission of war experiences with a modified Stroop procedure. Robert Motta, Jamie Joseph, Raphael Rose, John Suozzi, Laura Leiderman. Journal of Clinical Psychology, December 1997. 3. Traumatic stress and human behavior. Andrei Novac. Psychiatric Times April 2001 at www.psychiatrictimes.com 4. Exodus 20:5. 5. Hand me down hurt: PTSD across the generations. By Thomas Shafer in Self Help Magazine at www.shpm.com, 10/08/98.
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