![]() ![]() It’s important for specialists to become more knowledgeable and educated on intergenerational trauma to help families begin the healing process and to create a generation of individuals equipped with healthier coping mechanisms. The American Psychological Association acknowledged that “racism and racial discrimination adversely affect mental health by diminishing the victim’s self-image, confidence, and optimal mental functioning.” However, many psychologists struggle to understand intergenerational trauma and its effects. Additionally, United States Politics and Policy notes that black adults are almost two times as likely to suffer from diabetes, high blood pressure, prostate cancer, and heart disease. Overtime, the feelings of anxiety and high stress cause negative psychological issues in African Americans. For many, intergenerational trauma does not affect their day-to-day life, but has a long-lasting effect. The American Psychological Association notes that these shared fears among the Black community can lead to distrust among an outside group (in this case, among white police officers). Black parents have had to express to their children, specifically their sons, about the increasing dangers of police encounters and police brutality. Slavery isn’t the only example of intergenerational trauma within the African-American community. ![]() There is significant evidence of the impact of intergenerational trauma on the health and well-being for communities of color specifically African American/Black people. The extent to which one is affected by intergenerational trauma depends on three key factors: the level of identity development, exposure to racism, and the knowledge of the subjugation and painful experience of the previous generations. Intergenerational trauma is defined as the transmission of historical oppression and its negative consequences across generations. The US Centre reports that African Americans have higher incidences of high blood pressure, diabetes, and heart disease compared to white Americans because of intergenerational trauma. ![]() The impacts of intergenerational trauma go beyond psychological issues and can even affect one’s medical health. It has left some not able to properly deal with their emotions. This mass cultural oppression has had lasting effects such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psychological stress. In many African-American families, the trauma of slavery has been passed down through several generations. To do this, the trauma-informed SAFT model (TI-SAFT) integrates TIP into sociocultural attuned family therapy. Black families who had ancestors that were slaves experience intergenerational trauma in a different manner than those who are Jewish and have family members who were part of the Holocaust, or Native Americans whose great-grandparents were forced into cultural assimilation. The presented approach illuminates the complexity of intergenerational trauma in Black families with the goal of engaging the family in culturally responsive and trauma-informed care. Intergenerational trauma affects groups of marginalized individuals in different ways. Psychohistorians at Psychology Today define intergenerational, or transgenerational, trauma as the unconscious transmission of trauma from one generation to the next. ![]()
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