Transgenerational effects of trauma in midlife: Evidence for resilience and vulnerability in offspring of holocaust survivors

Amit Shrira; Yuval Palgi; Menachem Ben-Ezra; Dov Shmotkin

doi:10.1037/a0020608

Transgenerational effects of trauma in midlife: Evidence for resilience and vulnerability in offspring of holocaust survivors

Amit Shrira, Yuval Palgi, Menachem Ben-Ezra, Dov Shmotkin

Department of Gerontology

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Despite abundant research on offspring of Holocaust survivors (OHS), it is relatively unknown how they function in middle age. Transgenerational effects of the Holocaust may be stronger among middle-aged OHS as they previously suffered from early inclement natal and postnatal environment and now face age-related decline. However, middle-aged OHS may successfully maintain the resilience they demonstrated at a younger age. This study performed a wide-spectrum functional assessment of middle-aged OHS and a comparison group (N = 364) drawn from the Israeli component of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE-Israel). OHS, and especially those with two survivor parents, reported a higher sense of well-being but more physical health problems than the comparison group. The discussion provides possible explanations for this mixed functional profile.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	394-402
Number of pages	9
Journal	Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy
Volume	3
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1037/a0020608
State	Published - Dec 2011

Keywords

SHARE
functioning profile
midlife
offspring of Holocaust survivors
transgenerational transmission

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Social Psychology
Clinical Psychology

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10.1037/a0020608

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abstract = "Despite abundant research on offspring of Holocaust survivors (OHS), it is relatively unknown how they function in middle age. Transgenerational effects of the Holocaust may be stronger among middle-aged OHS as they previously suffered from early inclement natal and postnatal environment and now face age-related decline. However, middle-aged OHS may successfully maintain the resilience they demonstrated at a younger age. This study performed a wide-spectrum functional assessment of middle-aged OHS and a comparison group (N = 364) drawn from the Israeli component of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE-Israel). OHS, and especially those with two survivor parents, reported a higher sense of well-being but more physical health problems than the comparison group. The discussion provides possible explanations for this mixed functional profile.",

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AU - Ben-Ezra, Menachem

AU - Shmotkin, Dov

PY - 2011/12

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Transgenerational effects of trauma in midlife: Evidence for resilience and vulnerability in offspring of holocaust survivors

Abstract

Keywords

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