Grandchildren of Survivors: Can Negative Effects of Prolonged Exposure to Excessive Stress be Observed Two Generations Later?

Abstract

Some studies have demonstrated negative psychological repercussions on children of parents who experienced extreme, prolonged stress. To determine whether such effects might continue in the third generation, we examined the presenting complaints of patients in a child psychiatry clinic who could be reliably identified as: (i) children whose parents were native born but who had at least one grandparent who was a survivor of the Nazi persecution (Index 1, N = 58); (ii) other children who had at least one parent and one grandparent who was a survivor (Index 2, N = 11); (iii) children of other immigrant grandparents (N = 28); (iv) children with four native born grandparents (N = 30). All other grandparents and parents were native born. All families were of the same ethnic group. Index 2 children manifested more difficulties related to school performance, but the small size of the sample precludes generalization. Although the Index 1 children did not have different types of behavioural disturbances, the size of the Index (1 + 2) group (N = 69) relative to the comparison groups was 300% greater than expected on the basis of community population estimates. Implications of this finding are discussed.

Does intergenerational transmission of trauma skip a generation? No meta-analytic evidence for tertiary traumatization with third generation of Holocaust survivors

“…We should not overlook the limited evidence that is presented for specific traumatization effects in clinical (Sigal et al, 1988) or particularly vulnerable populations, evidence that might be lost or discounted in the meta-analysis. For example, in order to increase statistical power, we had to merge the subgroups as reported by Scharf (2007).…”

“…The work of Bienstock (1989) compared third generation offspring of Holocaust survivors and non-Holocaust survivors regarding their relationship to their maternal grandmothers. The study reported by Sigal, DiNicola, and Buonvino (1988) allowed for a comparison between third-generation offspring with Holocaust versus non-Holocaust background. The study examined the reported complaints of patients in a child psychiatry clinic and it found a large difference between the two groups, with an effect size of d ¼ 1.76 (95% CI 1.29 * 2.23; p 5 .001, our re-computation), indicating that third generation survivors did function much less well, according to the parents' reports, than offspring of nonHolocaust survivors.…”

Mechanisms of Non-Genetic Inheritance and Psychiatric Disorders

“…Studies showed a higher than normal vulnerability of the adult grandchildren of Holocaust survivors to psychological distress (Sigal et al, 1988;Scharf, 2007). Similarly, a higher incidence of poor health in later life of grandchildren of mothers who suffered from the Dutch famine during pregnancy was also reported (Painter et al, 2008).…”

“…Although studying the behavioral effects of excess prenatal glucocorticoid is complicated by confounds such as premature birth, accumulating data suggest permanent behavioral problems in these children that include increased distractibility and inattention (French et al, 1999), impaired cognitive development and narrative memory, and increased risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (Räikkönen et al, 2009;Bergman et al, 2010). This process may be perpetuated across generations and could explain the higher vulnerability of adult grandchildren of mothers exposed to extreme stress to psychological distress (Sigal et al, 1988;Scharf, 2007) and depression (Weissman and Jensen, 2002).…”

The secret language of destiny: stress imprinting and transgenerational origins of disease

“…HPA axis changes may also be involved in the observation that grandchildren of Holocaust survivors present with higher rates of psychiatric illness (Sigal et al, 1988), elevated levels of fear, neurotic behavior, and aggression (Scharf, 2007) and depression (Felsen and Erlich, 1990). On the other hand, adaptive changes may reflect in improved coping skills (Sigal and Weinfeld, 2001).…”