Abstract
The relationship between Holocaust child survivors' (n = 178) intrusive memories and their eldest offspring's (n = 178) well-being was examined. Results showed that survivors' intrusive memories were related to the loss of parents in the Holocaust and their symptoms of distress. The latter was related to offspring's perceived transmission of trauma of the mothers, which was associated with more symptoms of distress among offspring. These findings suggest that due to female survivors' uncompleted mourning processes and their subsequent suffering of intrusive memories, the emotional burden of the Holocaust was transmitted to the eldest offspring and caused them more symptoms of distress.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 396-408 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| Journal | Journal of Loss and Trauma |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Sep 2013 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Received 22 April 2012; accepted 29 May 2012. This research was partially supported by a grant from Elah, the Center for Psycho-Social Support, and by grants from the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute of Gerontology and Human Development and Eshel, the Association for the Planning and Development of Services for the Aged in Israel. Address correspondence to Sonia E. Letzter-Pouw, Department of Gerontology, University of Haifa, Mount Carmel, Haifa 31905, Israel. E-mail: [email protected]
Keywords
- Holocaust survivors
- loss
- offspring
- well-being
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Psychiatric Mental Health
- Social Psychology
- Social Sciences (miscellaneous)
- Psychiatry and Mental health