Healing Across Generations: Addressing the Impact of Intergenerational Trauma Through Policy Interventions
August 15, 2024
Overview
When viewed as a racial, social justice, and public health issue, intergenerational trauma affects several communities (Black Americans, immigrants, Holocaust survivors, Japanese Americans, and Indigenous People) differently. There are some promising policies, which when implemented in collaboration with impacted communities, can help to address the harms of intergenerational trauma.
Since intergenerational trauma can have grave health impacts, addressing it from a public health perspective is important in order to equip communities with the necessary tools to cope with its symptoms. This article explores how intergenerational trauma, as a racial, social justice, and public health issue, affects a number of communities (Black Americans, immigrants, Holocaust survivors, Japanese Americans, and Indigenous People) differently, including illustrating the diverse and unique effects it has on each. It also highlights some promising policies, which when implemented in collaboration with impacted communities, can help to address the harms of intergenerational trauma.
Intergenerational trauma refers to the transmission of psychological trauma across generations. This phenomenon occurs when stressors such as injury, oppression, poverty, and other adverse experiences faced by previous generations are passed down to their descendants. The transmission of this trauma has an epigenetic component, which refers to “potentially heritable changes in the genome that can be induced by environmental events.” The causes and manifestations of intergenerational trauma vary but often include a wide-range of trauma-related mental health conditions. Addressing intergenerational trauma requires understanding its origins and effects including history’s role in facilitating this trauma. Below are five examples of communities that have been subjected to intergenerational trauma.
Black Americans: Black Americans endured centuries of trauma, beginning with the brutal transatlantic slave trade, followed by systemic racism, segregation, and ongoing racial discrimination. The legacy of this trauma is profound and persistent. According to recent research, historical trauma among Black Americans often manifests as high and severe rates of anxiety, depression, PTSD, and substance use. These conditions are compounded by other structural inequities such as limited access to quality healthcare, economic disparities, and continuous exposure to racial discrimination, which can perpetuate the cycle of trauma.
Immigrants: Many immigrants face traumatic experiences before, during, and after their migration journey. These include violence, political instability, and other significant hardships in their home countries, along with the dangers and challenges of the migration process itself. Upon arrival in a new country, immigrants often confront additional stressors such as discrimination, acculturation stress, and socio-economic difficulties. These cumulative experiences can lead to PTSD, anxiety, and depression. Immigration-related trauma is complex and can impact the mental health of families across generations.
Holocaust Survivors: The trauma of World War II Holocaust survivors who experienced violence, loss, and displacement has been extensively documented. Studies have shown that the trauma experienced by such Holocaust survivors can be transmitted to subsequent generations, affecting their mental health and social functioning. This includes symptoms of PTSD, depression, and anxiety as well as pervasive fears, emotional numbness, and a deep sense of loss and dislocation.
Japanese Americans: During World War II, Japanese Americans were forcibly interned in camps, experiencing significant loss of property, rights, and social standing. Research indicates that the intergenerational transmission of this trauma has profound effects on the mental health and well-being of Japanese American communities. Descendants of those interned can suffer from PTSD, depression, identity-related issues, distrust of the U.S. government’s willingness to protect their rights, and a sense of cultural dislocation.
Indigenous People: Indigenous communities have faced centuries of colonization, forced displacement, cultural assimilation, and systemic violence. The impact of this brutal historical trauma manifests as high rates of PTSD, depression, substance use disorder, and suicide deaths. Additionally, this trauma “affected not only the individuals who experienced the trauma firsthand but also their descendants.” Today, the effect of this trauma is exacerbated by barriers to mental health services in the U.S. for Native American and Alaska Native individuals.
As these examples show, each community’s unique history and cultural background can influence how trauma manifests and what strategies may be most effective in addressing it. It is also important to acknowledge intersectionality, recognizing that some individuals may belong to more than one of these groups, thereby experiencing multiple layers of harm. Understanding such differences is crucial when designing effective interventions. Some interventions may be broad in nature, designed to address systemic issues such as access to mental health services. Others may be more targeted, such as putting into place structures that allow for healing through storytelling and narrative. Regardless, these strategies should all be culturally specific, taking into account the unique histories and current realities of each community. It is important that policy interventions be designed and adapted in collaboration with the affected communities to meet their specific needs. The policies explored in the next section offer a starting point for addressing the deep and lasting impacts of intergenerational trauma, with the aspiration that they can be tailored to provide the most effective support across diverse populations. This approach not only aims to heal past wounds but also to build resilience for future generations.
Policy Interventions to Address the Effects of Intergenerational Trauma
The roots of intergenerational trauma may vary by race and culture but it is clear that such trauma is produced by systemic harms that must be addressed through broad structural reforms. Therefore, addressing the effect of intergenerational trauma requires comprehensive policy interventions that are culturally sensitive and inclusive. Such policies should focus on mental health support, education, economic empowerment, and community healing to address the full spectrum of health harms created by intergenerational trauma. Below are four promising policy interventions and examples of their implementation:
- Expand Mental Health Support that is Affordable, Accessible, and Culturally Inclusive: This includes having trained healthcare providers who are culturally knowledgeable and can provide trauma-informed care.For example, the Indian Health Service provides mental health services to Native American communities, integrating traditional healing practices with modern therapeutic approaches.
- Create Programs that Promote Education and Awareness about Intergenerational Trauma: For example, The Healing Foundation in Australia “works with communities to create a place of safety to Stolen generation survivors [Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in Australia who were forcibly removed from their families by government agencies] and their families to speak for themselves, tell their own stories, and be in charge of their own healing” by providing resources and workshops that encourage understanding and healing from intergenerational trauma. Similarly, schools, workplaces, and community organizations can work with communities to implement programs on intergenerational trauma and its effects.
- Build Programs and Community-based Interventions that Focus on Healing and Resilience: Policies should foster community cohesion, cultural preservation, and mutual support because these elements tend to rebuild trust, identity, and resilience in communities that experience intergenerational trauma. For example, the Center for Native American Youth, offers programs that support Native American youth through Indigenous-led cultural education, leadership development, and mental health resources, and helps strengthen community bonds and resilience by promoting cultural pride and by providing a supportive network.
- Implement Restorative Justice Practices that Address Systemic Inequities: Restorative justice gives those harmed by trauma the opportunity to “communicate and address their needs.” These policies should repair the harm caused by historical injustices and provide tangible support to affected communities. The ACLU of Louisiana’s Justice Lab tackles systemic racism by challenging discriminatory policing for communities affected by slavery in the American South. The ACLU also facilitates restorative justice through their Truth and Reconciliation Guaranteed Income Program. The program “uses guaranteed income to transfer economic power from the descendants of enslavers” who have suffered police misconduct. By providing a monthly guaranteed income and other community building tools the program “has invested in people and provided resources for participants to better navigate the costly legal system, burdensome medical system, and income and work volatility” created by police violence.
These policy interventions are just a few examples of how to take a community-centered public health approach to intergenerational trauma. Indigenous communities have been leaders in this area, and their work provides models and inspiration for how to create programs in other communities. These types of interventions can help mitigate the effects of intergenerational trauma and promote healing and resilience in affected communities. It is essential, however, that policies are developed and executed in collaboration with the communities they aim to serve. This is necessary to help ensure that they are responsive to the unique needs and experiences of each community.
This post was written by Kaylee Romilus, Law Clerk, Network for Public Health Law—Health Equity, and reviewed by April Shaw, Acting Deputy Director, Network for Public Health Law—Health Equity.
The Network for Public Health Law promotes public health through non-partisan educational resources and technical assistance. This document is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or legal representation. Neither provision of this document nor any communications with the Network for Public Health Law and its staff create an attorney-client relationship. For legal advice, please contact your attorney.
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