User:KrysSand/New sandbox

Summary: Transgenerational trauma

Transgenerational trauma is the effect that a collective traumatic experience has on subsequent generations of that group. This field of study originated from a 1966 study that observed that large numbers of children of Holocaust survivors were seeking mental health care in Canada. Subsequent studies have observed similar findings in the descendants of other groups such as enslaved African Americans, Native Americans subjected to genocide, and domestic violence victims, among others. The critical question of the mechanism(s) of transmission has/have not been definitively proven, but may be related to epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation and alteration of gene expression, or possibly alterations in the hypothalamic-pituitary axis due to elevated maternal cortisol levels. In an individual, the symptoms may present variably due to the group affected and nature of the trauma, however often they manifest as PTSD-like symptoms and behaviors. Since intergenerational trauma is caused to indirect exposure and the symptoms are heterogenous, the diagnosis is often overlooked and appropriate treatment is not recommended. Once diagnosed, treatment often focuses on the parent-child relationship as seen in the Intergenerational Trauma Treatment Model (ITTM). Other affected therapies include analytic music therapy, and movement and dance therapy. Finally, transgenerational trauma is a complex and relatively new field of study and will require a multidisciplinary approach and  future high quality research to fully elucidate the mechanisms of transmission and effective treatments.

I propose multiple sections in wiki article “transgenerational trauma” be edited. The section labeled “affected groups” should include Native Americans/Indigenous peoples of America and their descendants. Psychologist and Anthropologist Dr. Joseph Gone at Harvard has many publications concerning this topic and will be a good source to use when editing this section. One article I plan to use to help edit this section is “Colonial genocide and historical trauma in Native North America: Complicating contemporary attributions” http://gonetowar.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/JPG-Colonial-Genocide.pdf This section should not exclude Native Americans and their descendants being that they are and continue to be affected by the historical trauma during the colonization of Turtle Island what is now known as America.

I also would suggest that the section labeled “Treatments” be edited to include cultural treatments that are utilized by and for Native American and Indigenous peoples affected by transgenerational trauma. For example traditional healing circles, talking circles and other traditional Indigenous/Native American healing modalities. The treatments presented should include cultural treatments tailored to the group affected, not only western treatments. Dr. John Lowe here at UT does research on talking circles and Native American health disparities. Dr.Lowes’ research and Dr. Gones’ would be useful when  editing this section. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1524839920918551

I also think that the information presented to us in Dr. Atkinsons first lecture about “The Dutch Hunger Winter of 1944” highlighting the relationship between trauma, food, and genetics should be included as evidence of the effects of transgenerational trauma. I would also like to elaborate further on the epigenetic mechanisms resulting from transgenerational trauma. The history section of the article can be updated and elaborated on in regards to elaborating on the specific historical traumas it is referring to. There needs to be more concrete and clear examples of what is causing epigenetic modifications.

References:


 * 1) https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1524839920918551
 * 2) http://gonetowar.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/JPG-Colonial-Genocide.pdf
 * 3) Carey, N. (2013). The Epigenetics Revolution: How Modern Biology Is Rewriting Our

Understanding of Genetics, Disease, and Inheritance (Reprint ed.). Columbia University

Press.

4.Heijmans et al. (2008). Persistent epigenetic differences associated with prenatal      exposure to famine in humans. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United

States of America, 105(44), 17046-17049. Tobi et al 2009 HMG 18:4046-4053. Link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2758137/

5. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6127768/pdf/WPS-17-243.pdf

6.https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33307966/

7. https://journals.healio.com/doi/10.3928/02793695-20210512-02