![Pathways to intergenerational trauma occur at the national, communal, family, and individual levels. These processes may include genetic changes, or mental frameworks, and self-sabotaging behaviors. [4]](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/secure.notion-static.com/e0fc574e-7e92-486d-9baa-6222a70d5fc9/Untitled.png)
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Nearly 14 percent of the United State's population is comprised of foreign-born individuals, and another 12 percent is comprised of second-generation individuals [1]; This means that one-quarter of Americans were either born in a different country or have at least one parent who originates from another country, and therefore, a different culture. Within the last 50 years, 59 million immigrants have arrived in the U.S, with a large majority hailing from Latin American and Asian countries. These individuals have brought with them rich histories, stories, foods, and traditions of their native countries. Unfortunately, many of these stories detail crimes against humanity such as war, severe poverty, genocide, forced encampment, and political abuse. These traumatic events influence the mental frameworks that immigrants and their descendants have. While a person does not need to come from an immigrant, or another marginalized background, to experience intergenerational trauma, people who do come from these vulnerable backgrounds can point to traumatic historical events and systemic abuse that have impacted their larger cultural, racial, and/or ethnic communities.
Pathways to intergenerational trauma occur at the national, communal, family, and individual levels. These processes may include genetic changes, or mental frameworks, and self-sabotaging behaviors. [4]
<aside> 💡 Intergenerational trauma refers to ways that trauma can get passed down from those who directly experience an incident to subsequent generations [3]. It may begin with a traumatic event affecting an individual, traumatic events affecting multiple family members, or collective trauma affecting a larger community, cultural, racial, ethnic, or other groups/populations (historical trauma).
Intergenerational trauma is passed down to younger generations through direct caregivers, such as parents. Traumatic experiences can influence the manner in which parents perceive how the world works, which they then pass on to their children. This trauma can also lead to genetic changes, such as those that lead to autoimmune diseases, which may impact subsequent generations.
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Criticism of intergenerational trauma includes relegating it to theory, as opposed to a studied, scientifically supported socio-biological phenomenon. This is harmful as it minimizes the likelihood that people who suffer from untreated trauma will seek help, and thus, perpetuating a violent, destructive cycle. This leads us to our core question, how can we explain intergenerational trauma in an accessible manner and support impacted people in their mental health journey?
As the U.S. becomes more racially and culturally diverse, it is pivotal to understand how marginalized individuals, especially those of younger generations, might adapt to American, conventions and process their intergenerational trauma.
When asked to describe their journey with mental health, all six people that I personally interviewed described their mental health issues as being dismissed by their parents (though at various degrees) and explained how this exacerbated their mental issues. Additionally, people's journeys with their own complex identities impacted how they sought help. While some sought therapists that are culturally competent to their cultures, others weren't sure if cultural competency was necessary for their mental health treatment. Nevertheless, cultural values and their ancestors' stories were featured prominently in their mental health journey.
From our collective interviews, we found that our interviewees possessed some understanding of how their parents' familial and cultural backgrounds had impacted their own mental health, even if they didn't explicitly identify this as 'intergenerational trauma'. However, they didn't know the mechanisms as to how this occurred due to the range of lived experiences even among the same generations. While cultural values are often important to our interviewees, it can be difficult to separate the positive and negative impacts of different cultural traditions on their mental health journey.
Thus, our target audience is young individuals from marginalized groups who may be experiencing intergenerational trauma. We are particularly interested in those whose lineage in the United States only dates back to the last 50 years and the relationship between their culture and which ways they sought to treat their mental health.
Due to the social stigma surrounding mental health, people often do not want to recognize their mental issues. One interviewee said, "I would not seek therapy because then it means I actually have a problem, and my family won't perceive me the same ever again". If we can speak about mental health treatment, more specifically intergenerational trauma treatment, more openly and positively, then ideally people do not even have to worry about being negatively perceived. Moreover, treatment is critical for those who suffer as it will minimize the effects of trauma which may include negative self-perceptions, emotional irregularities, lack of trust in others and self, and sleep deprivation. These issues impact the way that people show up, or don't, for their children, so again, it is critical to address so to minimize the compounding effects of intergenerational trauma.
<aside> 💡 Symptoms of intergenerational trauma may include:
At the end of this project, our team's high-level goal was to demystify intergenerational trauma, and how it impacts newer generations, through an interactive, gamified tool. One of the major barriers to disrupting intergenerational trauma is that few people are aware of it and therefore, do not seek treatment. Our intention with our explainer is to increase awareness about intergenerational trauma and connect people to resources so that they can continue learning more.
<aside> 🥅 Our interactive explainer will: