Trauma syndrome traverses generations.Many survivors of World War II's Holocaust, who endured the horrors of Nazi concentration camps
Prior to and during World War II, Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps (Konzentrationslager, abbreviated KZ or KL) throughout the territories it controlled. and in some cases hid for years from Hitler's minions, suffered painful emotional wounds that have never healed. This traumatic legacy has also seeped into the psyches of many of their children, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. a new study. Holocaust survivors There are many famous Holocaust survivors who survived the Nazi genocides in Europe and went on to achievements of great fame and notability. Those listed here were, at the very least, residents of the parts of Europe occupied by the Axis powers during World War II who survived who developed post-traumatic stress disorder post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), mental disorder that follows an occurrence of extreme psychological stress, such as that encountered in war or resulting from violence, childhood abuse, sexual abuse, or serious accident. (PTSD PTSD posttraumatic stress disorder. PTSD abbr. posttraumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) ) in response to wartime experiences tended to pass on to their children a vulnerability to the same condition, asserts Rachel Yehuda, a psychologist at Mt. Sinai School The Michael Sobell Sinai school is a Jewish primary school in Kenton, London. It is the largest Jewish primary school in Europe, and has always been regarded as a successful co-educational school for children aged 3-11. of Medicine in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of . Moreover, survivors' offspring diagnosed with PTSD often cite Holocaust-related thoughts or images as their primary traumas, Yehuda notes. "This is the first good, empirical evidence that it's possible for someone else's traumatic experience to become one's own trauma," she holds. "It suggests that the effects of severe trauma may last for generations." These findings, presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association The American Psychiatric Association (APA) is the main professional organization of psychiatrists and trainee psychiatrists in the United States, and the most influential world-wide. Its some 148,000 members are mainly American but some are international. in New York last week, contribute to emerging evidence that certain biological and environmental factors render some people particularly susceptible to PTSD. The disorder, typically thought to result from direct confrontations with military combat or other traumatic events, features nightmares, repeated flashbacks of distressing incidents, and fear of situations or locales that might call to mind those experiences. Yehuda and her coworkers studied 80 Jewish adults, most in their thirties or forties, born to Holocaust survivors and 20 Jewish adults of comparable age whose parents had not faced Nazi persecution. All of the volunteers lived in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . Most reported having had at least one traumatic encounter, such as getting mugged at gunpoint. The groups cited similar numbers and types of traumas. At some time in their lives, 23 offspring of Holocaust survivors-29 percent of the total-had suffered from PTSD, whereas none of the controls had, Yehuda says. The disorder afflicts around 8 percent of the U.S. population at some point in their lives (SN: 12/23&30/95, p. 422). "Children of Holocaust survivors often said that images of their parents' traumas intruded into their mental lives," Yehuda remarks. Regardless of whether they had experienced PTSD, survivors' children more often reported other psychiatric symptoms, including depression and anxiety. Offspring with PTSD had low concentrations of the stress hormone cortisol cortisol (kôr`tĭsôl') or hydrocortisone, steroid hormone that in humans is the major circulating hormone of the cortex, or outer layer, of the adrenal gland. in their urine, Yehuda found. Similarly diminished cortisol characterizes Vietnam combat veterans suffering from PTSD, she says. In another study, Yehuda and her colleagues interviewed 22 Holocaust survivors-11 of them diagnosed with PTSD-and one grown child of each survivor. The researchers found the disorder in six children, all of whom had a parent with PTSD. Such children may carry a genetic vulnerability to that condition, in Yehuda's view. They may also learn or acquire some PTSD symptoms from their parents, she adds. Neurological disturbances in the womb or during childhood may influence PTSD as well. "These are fascinating findings that need to be investigated further," comments Roger K. Pitman of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Manchester, N.H. Aside from a parent with PTSD, other factors contributing to PTSD susceptibility may include low intelligence, extreme shyness, impulsiveness, and a family history of depression, according to several other studies presented at the meeting. - B. Bower |
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