Intergenerational trauma transmission through family psychosocial factors in adult children of Rwandan survivors of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.

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  • Additional Information
    • Source:
      Publisher: Pergamon Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 8303205 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1873-5347 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 02779536 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Soc Sci Med Subsets: MEDLINE
    • Publication Information:
      Original Publication: Oxford ; New York : Pergamon, c1982-
    • Subject Terms:
      Genocide*/psychology ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic*/psychology ; Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic*/epidemiology ; Survivors*/psychology ; Adult Children*/psychology; Humans ; Rwanda/epidemiology ; Female ; Male ; Adult ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Young Adult ; Intergenerational Relations ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Parenting/psychology ; Depression/psychology
    • Abstract:
      Thirty years after the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, children of survivors are being increasingly documented to be at higher risk compared to their peers for adverse mental health outcomes. However, no studies in Rwanda have empirically explored family psychosocial factors underlying this intergenerational transmission of trauma. We investigated family psychosocial factors that could underlie this transmission in 251 adult Rwandan children of survivors (mean age = 23.31, SD = 2.40; 50.2% female) who completed a cross-sectional online survey. For participants with survivor mothers (n = 187), we found that both offspring-reported maternal trauma exposure and maternal PTSD were indirectly associated with children's PTSD via maternal trauma communication (specifically, nonverbal and guilt-inducing communication), and that maternal PTSD was indirectly associated with children's PTSD, anxiety, and depression symptoms through family communication styles. For participants with survivor fathers (n = 170), we found that paternal PTSD symptoms were indirectly associated with children's anxiety and depression symptoms via paternal parenting styles (specifically, abusive and indifferent parenting). Although replication is needed in longitudinal research with parent-child dyads, these results reaffirm the importance of looking at mass trauma in a family context and suggest that intergenerational trauma interventions should focus on addressing family communication, trauma communication, and parenting.
      Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest None.
      (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)
    • Contributed Indexing:
      Keywords: 1994 genocide against the Tutsi; Children of genocide survivors; Genocide survivors; Intergenerational trauma; Rwanda
    • Publication Date:
      Date Created: 20240405 Date Completed: 20240427 Latest Revision: 20240427
    • Publication Date:
      20240428
    • Accession Number:
      10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.116837
    • Accession Number:
      38579628