Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Intergenerational effects of war trauma'

The thesis examines the literary archive of the Japanese diaspora in North America and uncovers evidence of an intergenerational transmission of trauma after the internment of all peoples of Japanese descent in America during World War Two. Their experience of migration, discrimination and displacement was exacerbated by the internment, the single most influential episode in their history which had a profound effect on subsequent generations. It is argued the trauma of their experiences can be located in their writing and, drawing on the works of Freud and trauma theoreticians Cathy Caruth and Ruth Leys in particular, the thesis constructs a theoretical framework which may be applied to post-internment Japanese diasporic writing to reveal the traces of trauma in all generations, traces that are linked to what Freud referred to as a posterior moment that triggered an earlier trauma which the subject may not have experienced personally but which may be lodged in her / her psyche. An examination of the literature of the Japanese diaspora shows that trauma is carried in the language itself and impacted upon the collective psyche of the entire community. The theoretical model is used to read the tanka poetry written by the immigrant generation, a range of texts by the first American-born generation (including an in-depth analysis of four texts spanning several decades) and the texts written by the third-generation, many of whom did not experience the internment themselves so their motivation and the influence of the internment differed greatly from earlier generations. The thesis concludes with an analysis of David Mura's identification of the link between identity, sexuality and the influence of the internment experience as transmitted by his parents. The future of the Japanese American community and their relationship with their past traumatic experience also makes its way into the conclusion.

The thesis examines the literary archive of the Japanese diaspora in North America and uncovers evidence of an intergenerational transmission of trauma after the internment of all peoples of Japanese descent in America during World War Two. Their experience of migration, discrimination and displacement was exacerbated by the internment, the single most influential episode in their history which had a profound effect on subsequent generations. It is argued the trauma of their experiences can be located in their writing and, drawing on the works of Freud and trauma theoreticians Cathy Caruth and Ruth Leys in particular, the thesis constructs a theoretical framework which may be applied to post-internment Japanese diasporic writing to reveal the traces of trauma in all generations, traces that are linked to what Freud referred to as a posterior moment that triggered an earlier trauma which the subject may not have experienced personally but which may be lodged in her / her psyche. An examination of the literature of the Japanese diaspora shows that trauma is carried in the language itself and impacted upon the collective psyche of the entire community. The theoretical model is used to read the tanka poetry written by the immigrant generation, a range of texts by the first American-born generation (including an in-depth analysis of four texts spanning several decades) and the texts written by the third-generation, many of whom did not experience the internment themselves so their motivation and the influence of the internment differed greatly from earlier generations. The thesis concludes with an analysis of David Mura's identification of the link between identity, sexuality and the influence of the internment experience as transmitted by his parents. The future of the Japanese American community and their relationship with their past traumatic experience also makes its way into the conclusion.

The thesis examines the literary archive of the Japanese diaspora in North America and uncovers evidence of an intergenerational transmission of trauma after the internment of all peoples of Japanese descent in America during World War Two. Their experience of migration, discrimination and displacement was exacerbated by the internment, the single most influential episode in their history which had a profound effect on subsequent generations. It is argued the trauma of their experiences can be located in their writing and, drawing on the works of Freud and trauma theoreticians Cathy Caruth and Ruth Leys in particular, the thesis constructs a theoretical framework which may be applied to post-internment Japanese diasporic writing to reveal the traces of trauma in all generations, traces that are linked to what Freud referred to as a posterior moment that triggered an earlier trauma which the subject may not have experienced personally but which may be lodged in her / her psyche. An examination of the literature of the Japanese diaspora shows that trauma is carried in the language itself and impacted upon the collective psyche of the entire community. The theoretical model is used to read the tanka poetry written by the immigrant generation, a range of texts by the first American-born generation (including an in-depth analysis of four texts spanning several decades) and the texts written by the third-generation, many of whom did not experience the internment themselves so their motivation and the influence of the internment differed greatly from earlier generations. The thesis concludes with an analysis of David Mura's identification of the link between identity, sexuality and the influence of the internment experience as transmitted by his parents. The future of the Japanese American community and their relationship with their past traumatic experience also makes its way into the conclusion.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is characterised by intense fear, helplessness, or horror resulting from exposure to extreme trauma. The trauma event may involve a real or perceived threat of injury or death. Refugees and asylum seekers are substantially at higher risk for developing PTSD. Sri Lanka is identified as a refugee-producing country. Over the years, Sri Lankan Tamils have fled their homes due to the escalating civil war, violence, persecution, and systematic discrimination. The survivor’s trauma experiences, along with their hope of establishing a new home, are transported to their host countries. The current study explored the trauma experiences of the first and second generation of Sri Lankan Tamils living in Sydney who have been directly or indirectly impacted by Sri Lanka's thirty-year civil war. Sri Lanka's civil war was one of the longest-running civil wars in Asia. As a result, many Tamils fled Sri Lanka seeking asylum in countries such as Canada, the USA, the United Kingdom and Australia. The findings revealed that the first generation participants overwhelming reported greater direct experiences of trauma than indirect experiences of trauma. This finding was consistent with the generation 1 participants having lived in Sri Lanka for a prolonged period and having greater exposure to trauma events. Generation 2 participants disclosed greater indirect trauma event types. The findings of this study provide evidence of transgenerational transfer of trauma in generation 2 participants with household only experiences of sexual assault and torture positively associated with PTSD scores and all three PTSD subscales including re-experiencing, avoidance and arousal. These findings support evidence consistent with transgenerational trauma literature that trauma experiences of one generation can be passed onto another through complex mechanisms that facilitate the transfer of trauma symptoms.

The present qualitative research investigates a wide range of psychosocial responses to nakbah across 3 generations of internally displaced Palestinian families living in Israel through intergenerational narratives. Situated in a context of political violence and internal colonialism, the research was conducted with a mixed method design bringing together Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis and Grounded Theory, and informed by a constructionist-systemic perspective that better accounts for the complexity of refugees’ experience (Papadopoulos, 2002), and for the social and cultural differences imbedded in resilience and trauma constructs as performed by individuals, families, and communities. The theory expands the “trauma grid” model (Papadopoulos, 2002, 2006, 2007) and shows its intergenerational validity and applicability to internally colonized native populations exposed to a historical trauma and subjected to attacks on their survivance (Vizenor, 1999) and cultural diversity (Samson, 2003, 2008, 2013). The analysis of retrospective and present time narratives of 3 generations of nakbah-related internally displaced Palestinian families within Israel led to the emergence of a theory of complex intergenerational resilience composed of 3 dimensions of AAD (Adversity-activated Development), 2 main dimensions of resilience and 2 additional trauma-spectrum negative responses which were identified as subordinate and unpervasive. The outcome of this research may inform a more culturally sensitive and resilience-oriented understanding, intervention and prevention in the field of mental health among Palestinians in Israel. On the collective level, such a comprehensive approach may produce new insights on Palestinian national identity and its connections with experiences of victimhood and resilience due to past and present conditions of political conflict and social adversity. Limitations and implications for future research, professional practice and policy initiatives are discussed.

The aims of the dissertation were to assess: the psychological peculiarities of Lithuanian Afghanistan war veterans; the risk factors and the intensity of risk factors relations with posttraumatic reactions. A sample of 268 Lithuanian men who served in the Soviet Army in 1979–1989 was investigated on the average 17 years after the service: 174 men – study group and 94 – comparison group. The questionnaire was completed focusing on life-threatening experience, posttraumatic stress reactions, and mediating variables – social support, adaptation, sense of coherence, consumption of alcohol and drugs (HTQ, TSC-35, CSS, SOC13, structured and open questions). Lithuanian Afghanistan war veterans have more long-term psychological after-effects than the comparison group. Lithuanian Afghanistan war veterans experienced significantly more service-related and non-service-related traumatic events and conditions. Their adaptation after the service and nowadays were poorer and alcohol consumption is far more hazardous than in the comparison. Sense of coherence, adaptation after the service, violent assault, loss of the family member and alcohol consumption nowadays predict PTSD. The model of Afghanistan war veterans’ psychological after-effects is presented and discussed.
Tyrimo tikslai buvo nustatyti: 1) kokie psichologiniai ypatumai būdingi Lietuvos Afganistano karo veteranams; 2) veiksnius, susijusius su vyrų dalyvavusių Afganistano kare potrauminės simptomatikos išreikštumu ir įvertinti tų veiksnių sąsajų su potraumine simptomatika stiprumą. Tyrimo dalyviai – 268 Lietuvos vyrai atlikę privalomąją karo tarnybą Sovietų armijoje 1979-1989 metais. Tiriamoji grupė – 174 vyrai tranavę Afganistano-Sovietų Sąjungos kare, palyginamoji grupė – 94 vyrai tarnavę SSRS teritorijoje, kur karo veiksmų nebuvo. Jie buvo apklausti vidutiniškai 17 metų po sugrįžimo iš tarnybos. Klausimyną sudarė Harvardo traumos klausimynas, Traumos simptomų klausimynas, Paramos krizėje skalė, Vidinės darnos skalė ir struktūruoti bei atviri klausimai apie trauminį patyrimą, potraumines pasekmes bei tarpinius kintamuosius – prisitaikymą, socialinę paramą, vidinę darną bei alkoholio ir narkotikų vartojimą. Lietuvos Afganistano karo veteranų ilgalaikiai potrauminiai padariniai yra sunkesni, nei palyginamosios grupės. Lietuvos Afganistano karo veteranų traumininė patirtis, susijusi su tarnyba ir viso gyvenimo yra sunkesnė, adaptacija iš karto po tarnybos ir dabartiniu metu prastene bei jiems labiau būdingas žalingas alkoholio vartojimas dabartiniu metu, nei palyginamosios grupės vyrams. Potrauminio streso sutrikimo pasireiškimą geriausiai prognozavo vidinė darna, prisitaikymas po tarnybos, patirtas smurtinis užpuolimas, šeimos nario netektis ir alkoholio vartojimas dabartiniu... [toliau žr. visą tekstą]

For decades the occurrences of genocide, war, and conflict have been documented and data have been collected on the numbers of those displaced and/or lost their life. Historically, however, there has been a dearth of research pertaining to the psychological response of those who have survived exposure to these events. Emerging studies are investigating the symptomology and manifestations of the trauma induced by exposure to genocide, war, and conflict events. Nonetheless, there continues to be a lack of research regarding treatment. The present qualitative study, which utilized semistructured interviews as data collection methods, investigated the culturally based manifestations of PTSD and treatment modalities specific to survivors of genocide, war, and conflict currently residing in South Africa. Study participants included a variety of health care workers. Several exposure-specific and culturally relative themes emerged related to the trauma resulting from these events, such as survivors losing their sense of self-identity, having a distrust of others, and feeling as though there is a lack of justice in the world. These themes, along with other interventions and modalities of treatment for PTSD, were employed to create broad clinical recommendations for treatment. The recommendations centered on the health care worker having both a cultural and systemic understanding of clients and their presenting concerns. The results of this study provide valuable information regarding how individuals experience, perceive, and cope with trauma that can be applicable to a broad range of health care personnel. Additionally, these are data that can impact the design of future treatment modalities for PTSD.

Intimate partner violence (IPV) constitutes a major global health problem, affecting one in three women worldwide at some point during their life. IPV is particularly high in low and middle income countries (LMICs) and is associated with a wide range of adverse maternal and child health outcomes. Despite evidence that exposure to IPV affects child development and growth at birth and in infancy, there are limitations to our existing knowledge. First, few studies have considered the impact of maternal emotional IPV separately on child outcomes investigated, focusing primarily on physical and/or sexual IPV. Second, much of the existing data derives from high income countries, rather than from LMIC settings, where the majority of the world's child population lives and where many children are exposed to disproportionately high levels of poverty and violence-related risk factors. Third, there is limited information from well characterized longitudinal studies in these settings and a lack of investigation of associations in very young children, despite the fact that children under 2 years may be particularly at risk for long-term health sequelae relating to IPV exposure. Lastly, few studies have formally investigated potential mediators, inclusive of both behavioral and biological mechanisms underlying associations between IPV and food security and early-life child growth or development. In high-risk settings such as South Africa it is critical to gain improved understanding of pathways by which violence affects child health. This may be especially important given that LMIC contexts often have fewer programs in place to address IPV, and that associated mental health issues and risk factors may be different than in higher income countries. This thesis aimed to investigate IPV in a South African birth cohort, the Drakenstein Child Health Cohort, to understand better the patterns of IPV amongst pregnant and postpartum women, the impact antenatal and postnatal IPV exposure may have on their child's growth and development, and the pathways by which IPV may impact child health sequelae. Chapter 1 reviews the relevant literature, discusses key gaps and presents thesis aims and structure. Chapter 2 comprises a methods chapter which provides an overview of the study population, measures and ethical considerations. Chapter 3 (Paper 1) presents longitudinal profiles of maternal IPV exposure by sub-type from pregnancy through 24 months post-partum and associations between maternal childhood maltreatment and longitudinal frequency and severity of IPV. Chapter 4 (Paper 2) investigates the association between maternal childhood trauma as well as IPV and food insecurity among pregnant women, and examines whether maternal depression mediates these relationships. Chapter 5 (Paper 3) investigates associations between IPV sub-types and growth at birth and 12 months. Further, multiple psychosocial (substance use, depression) and clinical factors (number of hospitalizations) are tested to determine whether any of these may be mediators in the relationship between IPV and child growth. Chapter 6 (Paper 4) investigates emotional, physical and sexual IPV and their relationship with child development at 24 months of age, and whether depression or maternal alcohol dependence mediates these relationships. Chapter 7 presents a summary of findings across results chapters and includes recommendations for future policy and research. Key findings in this population show that: i) a high proportion of mothers are exposed to chronic IPV during and after pregnancy and that maternal childhood abuse or neglect is associated with higher frequency and severity of IPV exposure; ii) maternal IPV and childhood trauma are each associated with food insecurity during pregnancy and that depression partially explains these relationships; iii) emotional and physical IPV are associated with reduced fetal growth and reduced growth through infancy, and maternal substance use (alcohol or tobacco) partially explains these relationships; iv) both emotional and physical IPV are associated with poorer child development at 2 years, and neither maternal current depression nor alcohol dependence explain these relationships. Overall, the findings highlight that emotional IPV in addition to physical IPV is a key risk factor for child growth and development, and identify potential pathways underlying explored relationships. Maternal depression and substance use emerged as partial explanatory variables for nutritional outcomes, specifically food insecurity during pregnancy and growth outcomes at birth and through infancy. The high prevalence of IPV and its negative impact on child health, together comprise a major public health problem, causing significant hardship and representing a significant burden for families, economies and health systems. Findings presented in this thesis suggest that comprehensive and intersectoral programs are needed to 5 address IPV and associated adverse child health outcomes, inclusive of efforts to address maternal mental health and substance use. Further, it is also vital to ensure emotional IPV is included in training and intervention efforts. Clinical implications and areas for future research are discussed.

Doctor of Philosophy
Department of Family Studies and Human Services
Briana S. Goff
The purpose of the current study is to understand the lived experiences of military couples regarding the effects of war-related trauma and deployment on couple functioning. An interpretive phenomenological perspective was utilized during data analysis. This type of phenomenological perspective suggests that human phenomena can only be understood in a situated context (Packer & Addison, 1989). This is to suggest that a person’s emotions, behaviors, and experiences cannot be separated from the context in which they occur. For the purpose of this study, the “context” under consideration was the Army culture and customs in which each of the participant couples was embedded. The Couple Adaptation to Traumatic Stress Model (CATS; Nelson Goff & Smith, 2005) offers a constructive step forward in systemically understanding and treating the impediments created by war-related trauma and deployment. The current study utilized the core terms included in the CATS Model (Nelson Goff & Smith, 2005) as sensitizing concepts to guide the qualitative analysis process. This includes the CATS Model couple functioning variables of attachment, satisfaction, stability, adaptability, support/nurturance, power, intimacy, communication, conflict, and roles. Using qualitative interviews from 90 participants (n = 45 couples), five themes were identified as salient, including communication, conflict management, roles, support/nurturance, and post-traumatic growth. Participants were divided into subgroups (n = 15 couples, 30 total participants) according to their scores on the Purdue Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Scale – Revised (PPTSD-R; Lauterbach & Vrana, 1996) and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS; Spanier, 1976). This subsample was selected to examine differences in themes among couples with high and low levels of marital satisfaction, as well as those with high and low levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms. Many similarities were found among the couples with high marital satisfaction and those with low levels of post-traumatic symptoms. Likewise, similarities were also discovered among the couples with lowest levels of marital satisfaction and those with highest levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms. From the current study, there is clear evidence in support of the CATS Model elements of communication, conflict, roles, support/nurturance, and satisfaction. A new contribution to the CATS Model can be made from the current study, which is the inclusion of post-traumatic growth.

Doctor of Philosophy
Department of Educational Leadership
Sarah Jane Fishback
A new group of learners is emerging in the adult learning environment as a result of the United States being at war for more than 10 years. More than two million warriors served in the Global War on Terrorism (GWOT). Educational institutions across the United States are experiencing growing numbers of students who are military combat veterans of the GWOT. These numbers will continue to grow as more of them transition back into life after combat. These students are arriving in class with varying levels of combat trauma experience and possibly Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), major depression, Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) or a combination of these and other difficulties. The purpose of this research was to learn from military veteran students how their combat experience affects them in the classroom. Specifically it looked at the types of combat experiences they have and the types of physical and mental effects they report experiencing while attending and participating in educational learning activities. This research h sought to gain insight into how combat experience influences the learning experience for GWOT military combat veterans who participate in an educational learning environment. It explored the types of experiences these students bring into that learning environment and how their participation in learning activities is affected.

This thesis explores lifespan and intergenerational trauma effects experienced by Russian Mennonite women who fled from Stalinist Russia during WWII and migrated to Canada, and adult sons or daughters of this generation of women. As an adult child of survivors, I employed an autoethnographic methodology, conducting 1-on-1 interviews with eight women aged 78 to 96, and seven adult children aged 50 to 68. Older women demonstrated a lifelong emphasis on mental strength, faith, and resilience; the marginalization of emotions; evidence of insecure attachment styles; and potential for unresolved trauma to resurface in later life. The majority of adult children experienced attachment and identity issues; their life experiences are viewed through the lens of biological, psychological, familial, cultural (religious) transmission of trauma effects. Results highlight the importance of structural and narrative social work approaches that externalize and contextualize trauma and transform service environments that individualize and/or pathologize lifespan outcomes of trauma.

Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
In January, 2009, as part of my research for this award, I discovered my mother had been born in a Nazi concentration camp for the extermination of Slavic infants. The following Palm Sunday, I was the first descendant of a Polish infant survivor to have visited the site of the Frauen Entbindungslager, Birth and Abortion Camp, in Waltrop, Recklinghausen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. I shared communion with a predominantly octogenarian congregation that been young men and women in 1943, some of them the residents of this German Catholic town when it enforced the fates of the pregnant Slav workers. Nearly seventy years after my mother’s escape, I became the custodian of a story I should never have been born to tell. Although more a piece of literary fiction than an autobiographical novel, >>The Glass Mountain<< engages with family stories to explore the depth, transference and healing of trauma across four generations as it weaves between the contemporary Australian lives of Kaz and her autistic 17 year old son, Jason, and the experiences of Zuitka and her infant daughter, Julka, in Germany during the last years of WWII. In 2011, Christophe Laue from the Herford Archive, Herford, North Rhine-Westphalia emailed Nazi documents relating to my mother, as well as an historical book and a museum program in which she is named. Scholars have asked, “What happened to Danuta Anita?” The exegesis, >>The Legacy of Danuta Anita<<, responds to this while exploring practice led research in creative projects involving intergenerational trauma and migration. It engages with the researcher as subject, authorial authenticity and performativity, the science and literature of trauma and intergenerational (transgenerational) trauma, the unreliability of memory in researching trauma narratives, the origins and ongoing influences of eugenics, infanticide and genocide, and the complexities of representing trauma and autism in literature.

Text in German, summaries in German and English
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 190-197)
In dieser Forschungsarbeit wird untersucht, ob und inwieweit transgenerationale Übertragungsprozesse als Folge von psychischen Traumata, welche Vertriebene in und nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg erlebten, heute noch bei Nachfahren in der Kriegsenkelgeneration eine Rolle spielen. Dabei wird unter anderem untersucht, wie sich das Ereignis der Vertreibung mit Blick auf psychische Traumata konkret auswirkte und zu welchen, auch heute noch spürbaren, Symptomen es geführt hat. Auf Grund der Symptome wurden in einer empirischen Untersuchung fünf sogenannte Kriegsenkel interviewt, um zu erfahren, wie Betroffene die Auswirkungen dieser Symptome im Alltag beschreiben und welche Rolle dabei geistliche Erfahrungen spielen. Die Ergebnisse dieser Interviews führen zum Abgleich der Thesen und sollen schlussendlich helfen, praktische Konsequenzen für die Seelsorgearbeit zu ziehen und eine Hilfestellung in der Problemdiagnose zu geben.
This thesis explores if and how transgenerational transfer processes which are a consequence of mental traumata of displaced people in and after World War II still play a role in the lives of their descendants in the generation of the “grandchildren of war”. For one thing it looks at how the event of forced displacement specifically has had an impact on mental traumata and which symptoms have resulted, that are still perceptible today. Based on the symptoms five of the so called “grandchildren of war” have been interviewed in an empirical survey, in order to find out how those affected describe the effects of these symptoms on their everyday lives and which is the role of spiritual experiences. The findings of these interviews are compared to the theses and finally, should help to draw practical conclusions for councelling and offer help to diagnose problems.
Practical Theology
M. Th. (Practical Theology)