Children of survivors of the Nazi Holocaust: A critical review of the literature.

Abstract

This review of published research on children of Holocaust survivors focuses on new directions taken in clinical and experimental studies during the past decade. Methodological problems persisting from earlier research are considered, and suggestions for future research strategies are offered.

Multigenerational Perspectives on Coping with the Holocaust Experience: An Attachment Perspective for Understanding the Developmental Sequelae of Trauma across Generations

“…Many publications have dealt with inter-generational transmission of traumatic experiences associated with the Holocaust (Solkoff, 1992). Here, even more, clinical reports on children of Holocaust survivors versus more systematic research paradigms are inconsistent in their ndings.…”

“…Some reviews of empirical studies into the consequences of extreme events show that about 20-30% of all victims have to deal with long-term mental disorders (Brom, Kleber, & Hofman, 1993). It has not been shown, however, that all or even most people involved in such events will develop disorders (Solkoff, 1992). The link between extreme life events and subsequent disorders, such as post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD) is not deterministic as is often assumed (McFarlane, 1995).…”

The psychiatric after-effects of the Holocaust on the second generation

“…Based on the two preceding surveys, and with the additional support from Sigal & Weinfeld's study (1989) on demoralization, we may conclude that methodological issues that marred previous research and that prompted Solkoff (1992) to state, ' findings on the transgenerational effects of the Holocaust-related trauma [are] at best problematic ', may now be approaching partial resolution. Admittedly, conclusions based on both the Schwartz et al (1994) and Major (1996) studies have considerable limitations.…”

“…These controlled studies, including those reviewed by Solkoff (1981Solkoff ( , 1992 and Eitinger & Major (1993), unlike the clinic-based observations that primarily focused on children, examined older subjects. In contrast with the latter research strategy, the studies conducted in the community have not shown consistent evidence indicating that the offspring of concentration camp survivors exhibit more psychopathology than controls.…”

“…Furthermore, many of these studies had limited completion rates in both the index and control groups ; the potential risk of result modification due to the effect of the non-respondents can thus not be ruled out. Solkoff (1981Solkoff ( , 1992 and Eitinger & Major (1993) have provided detailed reviews of the studies on the second generation of Holocaust survivors. An additional review is thus redundant, except to note that, save for a relatively recent investigation by Schwartz et al (1994) and earlier work by Solomon et al (1987Solomon et al ( , 1988, all studies conducted in the community used scales that measured psychological symptoms, personality characteristics, or events, such as psychiatric intervention.…”