Complex PTSD and intergenerational transmission of distress and resilience among Tutsi genocide survivors and their offspring: A preliminary report

Amit Shrira; Benjamin Mollov; Chantal Mudahogora

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2018.11.040

Complex PTSD and intergenerational transmission of distress and resilience among Tutsi genocide survivors and their offspring: A preliminary report

Psychiatry Res. 2019 Jan:271:121-123. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2018.11.040. Epub 2018 Nov 19.

Authors

Amit Shrira¹, Benjamin Mollov², Chantal Mudahogora³

Affiliations

¹ The Interdisciplinary Department of Social Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Israel. Electronic address: amit.shrira@biu.ac.il.
² The Interdisciplinary Department of Social Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Israel.
³ Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

PMID: 30472506
DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2018.11.040

Abstract

The research on survivors of genocide has focused on PTSD, but complex PTSD (CPTSD) and its potential effect on intergenerational transmission are understudied. This study assessed complex PTSD and resilience among Tutsi genocide survivors (n = 60, mean age = 52.27 [SD = 6.27]) and their offspring (n = 60, mean age = 21.21 [SD = 1.78]). Offspring of parents suffering from PTSD or CPTSD reported more secondary traumatization symptoms relative to offspring of parents without PTSD (p < 0.0001). Moreover, parental CPTSD was related to lower resilience among both survivors and offspring (p < 0.0001). The current findings suggest that parental CPTSD may have broader influences manifested in offspring lower resilience.

Keywords: Complex PTSD; Intergenerational transmission of trauma; Resilience.

MeSH terms

Adult
Burundi
Child of Impaired Parents / psychology*
Ethnicity / psychology
Female
Genocide / psychology*
Humans
Intergenerational Relations
Male
Middle Aged
Parents / psychology*
Resilience, Psychological*
Rwanda
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / psychology*
Survivors / psychology*
Young Adult