Intergenerational Trauma: The Ghosts of Times Past (3 page)

              Similarly, the child learns how to cope with stressors by observation. Observation learning is often associated in this fashion with cycles of violence, cycles of addition, and many other behaviors that are consistent across generations. In the case of intergenerational trauma, it is a cycle of trauma or least a cycle of the effects of trauma. The child observes how the parents cope with trauma. The child or parents may not even consciously be aware of what they are observing. The child may watch the parent display signs of paranoid around crowds. The child may watch the parent become uncomfortable and avoid triggers. The child may observe biases and stigmas. The behavior observed may be as clear as direct and clear prejudice or it may be very subtle. This behavior becomes magnified in the child’s mind as a coping skill or indicator of danger as in the case of the child observing the parent’s avoidance of triggers. As the child observes, he learns these behaviors and then mimics the behaviors. Parent and child are often not consciously aware of the behaviors and biases that are developed. In many cases, the parent does not intend to develop a bias in the child, but it does happen through learning.

              As the child grows into an adult, these learned behaviors continue to be present without intervention. Sometimes the learned behaviors can become magnified. For example, the parent may avoid furnaces and fireplaces as they may serve as a trigger for the trauma that was experienced during the Holocaust. The parent may have shown panic or an unintentional reaction while the child was observing caused by the trigger of a fireplace. The child, then, develops the notion that fireplaces are incredibly dangerous. They should be avoided. They child may associate the fireplace without the reaction of the parent. The child may develop exaggerated startle responses to seeing fire. This is an example, but one can see how the effect can be magnified and often is magnified by the child.

Some of the effects of observational learning are mitigated by social interactions such as school-aged learning and exposure to individuals outside the family that challenge irrational beliefs. In many cases, these irrational beliefs and fears that have been deeply ingrained into the child’s unconscious belief system. As a result, single exposure to challenges does not adequately unseat the maladaptive belief that was developed by the child through observational learning. Humans are stubborn creatures, and it is difficult to unlearn what has been learned by repeated exposure. In many instances, the children have observed the trauma-related symptoms by repeated exposure to situations in which the parent has reacted in maladaptive manner or as a result of their post-traumatic symptoms. Repeated observations make it harder for the child to challenge beliefs and the responses even if the individual is making a conscious effort. The maladaptive response and belief becomes almost reflexive.

In the case of intergenerational trauma of Holocaust survivors, it is useful to look at the transmission in the light of a dynamic between nature and nurture. It is not typically transmitted solely by one means. The transmission typically occurs as a combination of the two explanations of the transmission interacting with one another. In examining the dynamic approach to intergenerational trauma, the nature theory lays the groundwork for predisposition. An individual is at a higher risk of developing trauma related symptoms due to their genetic or chemical make-up. When remembering the epigenetic theory, one should note that this sets the stage for symptoms, but it alone does not determine that an individual will display symptoms of PTSD as a result of the trauma experienced by the prior generation. The nurture part builds up on the framework for trauma that has been laid by the epigenetic view. The child observes the symptomology of the parents and learns behaviors. They learn to avoid the triggers of the adult. They learn responses to triggers. They view crowds as dangerous. The child sets up a belief system of fear and anxiety that is similar to that of the parents. This creates an optimal environment for the younger generation to develop maladaptive responses to triggers and experience stress reactions as a result.

When taking into account the effects of intergenerational trauma, Native Americans are at the forefront of the groups examined. There have been numerous studies conducted to understand how the trauma occurred and how it is passed from generation to generation. When trying to understand fully the impacts of trauma, one should be aware of what the trauma event or events were that occurred first. After being aware of the events, one should determine what beliefs are created as a result of the traumatic events and then how they result in consequential actions that affect the present generation. This format is often referred to as the ABCs of trauma. A is the activating event (traumatic event). B is the belief that is formed as a result. C is the consequence of the irrational or disturbing beliefs. This ABC formula is commonly seen in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Models and Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy (REBT) models to explain the development of anxiety and fears. The ABC is useful in helping individuals to understand the mechanisms behind PTSD and trauma-related disorders as the disorders are based in anxiety that is created as a result of the experienced trauma.

In the case of the intergenerational trauma of Native Americans, the trauma can be looked at as six unresolved traumas that have cumulated into highly concentrated historical trauma that is commonly seen across many Native American tribes. Initially, there was the first contact with Europeans. During this time, native people were introduced to new diseases and addictive substances such as alcohol. This time period serves as the traumatic shock of the first contact.

The next period of trauma was economic competition phase. During this time, Native Americans were persecuted for their religious beliefs and were exposed to manipulation when they attempted to trust Europeans. Third phase is often referred to as the extermination period. During this phase, many Europeans were seen as wanting to exterminate Native Americans. This led to many Native Americans experiencing something similar to genocide as their people were being massacred in large numbers. This also led to many individuals experiencing symptoms similar to refugees in crisis
.

The subjugation phase was the fourth period of trauma that Native Americans experienced. During this phase, many Native Americans were relocated and confined to reservations. After the experience of trauma that was caused by the Europeans, the Native Americans were then forced to be dependent on the individuals who had oppressed them. This was the result of the Native Americans having their lands taken from them during the previous periods. During this phase of history, it was common for many Native peoples to explain their state of being as a sense of hopelessness and felt as if they had no way of maintaining their security. This is an important thing to note as security is listed as a basic human need according to theories such as Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, and hopelessness is straightforward way of describing depression.

The fifth phase of trauma was the boarding school period. During this time, children were removed from families and placed in boarding schools that were intended to assimilate the children into US culture. This movement had terrible results on the families that were subjected to it. Many children experienced severe beatings and abuse in the boarding schools. Young girls were raped by the caregivers in the schools. Many children were malnourished. Additionally, the family unit was destroyed as a resulted. In society, the family unit is substantial to the culture. The family unit provides for the most basic form of societal norms for people. It serves as a microcosm of how a society is to function. Through the observation of the parents, children learn how to be parents themselves when they are older. As a result of these boarding schools, there was a generation of Native Americans who were confused about their identity, many customs and languages were lost or destroyed, and countless numbers of children were emotional, physically, and sexually abused throughout a large part
of their childhood.

The sixth phase of trauma has been referred to as the termination period. During this time frame, many Native Americans were relocated to urban areas. Many were oppressed due to their religious views. Racism was common place during this era. The racism experienced by Native Americans during this time frame was much like that experienced by African-Americans during the de-segregation era. Native Americans were often treated like second-class citizens. During this time, the Native Americans continued to lose their native languages, culture, customs, and sense of self. They were left feeling like a people lost to the changes of time.

As a result of the numerous traumatic experiences of Native Americans, a culture of grief has developed over several generations. When examining research across various Native American populations, trends of internalized feelings of oppression, depression, anger, and frustration appear to be common themes. Individuals have been commented that they had been told throughout their lives that they were dumb or substandard humans.

Lisa Grayshield, a professor of counseling and educational psychology at New Mexico State University, recently conducted research on the perspectives of Native American elders on the historical trauma of their people and its effects. During the research, Dr. Grayshield and her team interviewed tribal leaders from six different tribes. The elders explained how they remembered being humiliated and belittled due to their race when they were younger. Several individuals made connections between the current internalized oppression and the imposed values systems that were forced upon them during the boarding schools of the earlier twentieth century.

As the individuals of prior generations experienced trauma, they developed maladaptive coping skills to deal with the impacts of PTSD. These maladaptive skills have developed over several generations with each generation adding new skills to those learned from the previous generations. For example, the generations that experienced trauma as a result of being force-relocated to reservations developed the initial symptoms of PTSD such as hyper-vigilance and night terrors. Their young children initially observe the parent’s coping with these symptoms by being paranoid, being dependent on alcohol, and various other strategies.

The younger generation is, then, exposed to new trauma by being placed in boarding schools and all the terrible experiences that came with the boarding schools. These children then grew up to develop new skills cope with their own traumatic experiences. This second generation combines the coping skills that they observed as children from their parents with their newly developed maladaptive strategies to cope with their trauma. The compounding of trauma upon trauma is commonly seen in cases of intergenerational trauma. In the case of Native Americans’ intergenerational, the trauma is much more chronic than most examples of intergenerational trauma. In addition to the trauma being compounded by its reoccurrence over several generations, the trauma is also amplified by the creation of a disconnect between generations due to the remove of children from their homes by the individuals that are viewed as the ones that have been oppressing and persecuting their families for many generations.

This three-pronged trauma impact on the second generation produces much more pronounced symptoms than typical PTSD. Some people have presented the argument that individuals who have come from families with a history of PTSD tend to be more resilient in overcome trauma. The logic to the argument is that the parents served as models of how to cope with trauma. As a result, the children have a basis from which to develop skills in handling the effects of trauma in more productive manner. Unfortunately, this is not true of most cases. The parents do serve as models of how to handle trauma, but historically, PTSD symptoms have been greatly misunderstood and stigmatized. Native American populations have had fewer resources to mental health care due in part to being discriminated against by European populations and due in part to the destruction of their traditional culture and resources by the various cultural traumas that they have experienced throughout history. Therefore, the coping skills of the parent generation are often maladaptive due to a lack of resources available to develop effective and healthy coping skills. In the absence of treatment, the parent generation have often self-medicated through the use of alcohol and drug abuse. This self-medication is often seen as one of the contributing factors to higher rates of alcoholism among Native American populations. The younger generations, therefore, do not have effective role models for the development of healthy coping strategies but have models that are maladaptive and often strongly displaying the symptoms of individuals suffering from severe traumatic experiences.

When comparing different Native American families, the presence of intergenerational trauma effects are less pronounced among families that have been able to retain their cultural heritage. This particular effect is seen as the result of individuals being able to develop a higher level of resilience as a result of being able to maintain their cultural norms in the face of great adversity over many generations. Over generations, these families have been able to achieve a higher state of well-being on average as compared to families that have lost their cultural connections due to the boarding schools and assimilation efforts of the early twentieth century.

The impact of trauma upon Native Americans has clearly been accumulative effect as opposed to a single event. Many of the methods that were present in Holocaust survivors are also present in the case of Native Americans. The genetic influence of epigenetic predispositions is commonly seen as present in Native Americans along with the transmission of trauma-related behaviors through observational learning. In the case of Native Americans, the effect of intergenerational trauma is much more pronounced as the trauma has been across multiple generations. In addition, the beliefs are often more conscious than unconscious. The younger generations are more aware and more accepting of the biases against Europeans or white people than the Holocaust survivors are aware of individuals of German descent.

Several factors lead to the differences between Holocaust survivors and Native Americans with regard to the impacts of intergenerational trauma. In the case of Holocaust survivors, the atrocities of the concentration camps were made clear. There was never attempt by the media to downplay how terrible the war crimes were. During the Nuremburg Trials, the perpetrators of the crimes against humanity were brought to justice and were sentenced for their inhuman treatment of millions of people. For the Native American people, there was no trial for the perpetrators of the crimes committed against them. There was no justice. Many of the organizations that Native Americans see as responsible for their suffering were never held accountable for the atrocities that were committed. Due to the lack of justice, the sense of loss is compounded for the survivors. This leads to a sense of hopelessness and helplessness. In addition to the PTSD-like symptoms, the younger generations are at a higher risk for depression.