Is There Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma? The Case of Combat Veterans' Children

Overview

Journal Am J Orthopsychiatry

Publisher American Psychological Association

Specialties Psychiatry
Psychology

Date 2009 Jan 7

PMID 19123747

Citations 55

Authors

Rachel Dekel

Hadass Goldblatt

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

This article is a review of the literature on intergenerational transmission of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from fathers to sons in families of war veterans. The review addresses several questions: (1) Which fathers have a greater tendency to transmit their distress to their offspring? (2) What is transmitted from father to child? (3) How is the distress transmitted and through which mechanisms? And finally, (4) Which children are more vulnerable to the transmission of PTSD distress in the family? Whereas the existing literature deals mainly with fathers' PTSD as a risk for increased emotional and behavior problems among the children, this review also highlights the current paucity of knowledge regarding family members and extrafamilial systems that may contribute to intergenerational transmission of PTSD or to its moderation. Little is also known about resilience and strengths that may mitigate or prevent the risk of intergenerational transmission of trauma.

Citing Articles

Immigration, Discrimination, and Resilience: Intersecting Social Factors Associated with Symptoms of Depression and Anxiety Among Ethiopian and Eritrean American Emerging Adults.

Hussen S, Tewodros T, Argaw S, Berhanu L, Tesfai R, Easley J J Racial Ethn Health Disparities. 2025; .

PMID: 39982584 DOI: 10.1007/s40615-025-02307-x.

Long-term consequences of mothers' and fathers' wartime deployments: Protocol for a two-wave panel study.

MacDermid Wadsworth S, Topp D, Lester P, Stander V, Christ S, Whiteman S PLoS One. 2024; 19(3):e0295007.

PMID: 38498486 PMC: 10947692. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0295007.

The Impact of Parental Mental Health Diagnoses, Trauma, and Coping Mechanisms on Their Children's Well-Being.

DesRoches D, Mattheisen M, Plessen K, Pagsberg A, Marin-Dragu S, Orr M Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2023; .

PMID: 37957447 DOI: 10.1007/s10578-023-01626-6.

Long-lasting effects of World War II trauma on PTSD symptoms and embodiment levels in a national sample of Poles.

Rzeszutek M, Dragan M, Lis-Turlejska M, Schier K, Holas P, Pieta M Sci Rep. 2023; 13(1):17222.

PMID: 37821535 PMC: 10567698. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-44300-6.

The generation that lived during/participated in the war and the generation that inherited it: association between veterans PTSD and adult offspring's emotional regulation strategies and alexithymia levels.

El Moujabber P, Homsi V, Hallit S, Obeid S BMC Psychiatry. 2023; 23(1):599.

PMID: 37592206 PMC: 10433638. DOI: 10.1186/s12888-023-05087-y.