Researchers believe that when this is the case, it becomes more difficult to redress behaviours that have become the community norm. In some communities, multiple families lack the knowledge and skills to support their children’s emotional and psychological When children experience abuse, neglect and stress in their home environments, they are unable to develop appropriate coping skills or strategies to deal with future life stressors. This model assumes thatĬhildren learn from their immediate environment and from the people who directly contribute to their development, such as their parents and immediate family members. One can be thought of as the sociocultural model, which focuses on parenting styles and how environmental factors influence child development. Researchers have many working theories on how intergenerational trauma is transmitted. Have offered theories on the origins of the trauma among Indigenous peoples in Canada.

Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart first documented the impact of historic loss in her study of grief as experienced by the Lakota community ( see Dakota) in the late 1990s. They are trying to understand the persistent nature of trauma-induced symptoms that continue to affect the well-being of many Indigenous individuals, their families and their communities.ĭr.

Psychological and sociological researchers are exploring theories about how trauma is transmitted from one High levels of Indigenous unemployment, a disproportionate number of Indigenous people involved in the justice system, high rates of Indigenous homelessness in urban centres and poor housing conditions in many First Nations communities all share a rootĬause: Canada’s residential school policy. You have a whole society affected by isolation, loneliness, sadness, anger, hopelessness and pain. In her 1991 work, Impact of Residential Schools and Other Root Causes of Poor Mental Health, Maggie Hodgson summarizes the cumulative impact of the loss of parenting knowledge and skills across generations: If you subject one generation to that kind of parenting and they become adults and have children those children become subjected to that treatment and then you subject a third generation to a residential school system the same as the first two generations. They make up more than 52 per cent of children in the care of child welfare authorities. While Indigenous children represent less than 8 per cent of children under 14 years of age in Canada, The effects of these chaotic family systems can be seen in the high rates of family violence and domestic partner abuse. Many are ill-prepared to nurture their own children. With little experience of nurturing family environments from which to draw, generations of residential school Survivors struggle with residual trauma.

Residential schools included parenting models based on punishment, abuse, coercion and control. In a national survey conducted between 20, members of First Nations communities identified managing substance useĪs the number-one challenge for community wellness ( see Social Conditions of Indigenous Peoples in Canada). These range from heightened feelings of anger, anxiety, low self-esteem and depression to post-traumatic stress disorder and high rates of suicide, among other things. On an individual level, the long-term impact of residential school experiences has left many former students facing significant psychological challenges ( see Mental Health). Many children experienced psychological, spiritual, physical and sexual abuse at the hands of their so-called caregivers in the residential school system ( see Child Abuse). The Holocaust and having immature dependency.Īs early as the 2010s, researchers began examining the intergenerational effects of the residential school system on Indigenous people and communities across Canada.įrom Individual Trauma to Intergenerational Trauma Some noted their specific behaviour patterns, including being overly protective of their parents, needing a high level of control, exhibiting an obsession with Studies described high rates of psychological distress among children of Holocaust Survivors. His paper focused on family dynamics, particularly between parent and child ( see Family Studies). Rakoff wrote one of the first articles on the topic. Preliminary studies have focused on Holocaust SurvivorsĪnd their offspring ( see Canada and the Holocaust).

The phenomenon is often examined as part of research into historical trauma. The study of intergenerational trauma, which researchers also call “transgenerational trauma,” is a developing field.

Quotes intergenerational trauma