Experiencing childhood abuse including physical, emotional, and sexual.Experiencing the sudden and/or violent death of a family member.Today, we understand that the following events and situations can also lead to this type of ongoing trauma: Relatives and members of American Indian tribesĪs more and more is learned about the real impact of intergenerational trauma, it’s clear that far more than just the members of these groups and their relatives have been impacted and continue to be.Relatives of Japanese-American encampment survivors.When it comes to intergenerational trauma and research into it, the focus was first on the following groups: Who Experiences Multi-generational Trauma? However, the good news is that despite the many people in the family who can be adversely impacted by intergenerational trauma, each person impacted can heal and break the cycle associated with the original trauma. Today, we understand this is far from the truth. Many times, people mistakenly believe that only the person who lived through or experienced the traumatic event is impacted and suffers. When this type of trauma has occurred, the children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren can be impacted.
![intergenerational trauma and domestic violence intergenerational trauma and domestic violence](https://image.slideserve.com/1018383/intergenerational-trauma-l.jpg)
![intergenerational trauma and domestic violence intergenerational trauma and domestic violence](https://i1.rgstatic.net/publication/332636877_Intergenerational_Transmission_of_Family_Violence_and_Depressive_Symptoms_in_Urban_Thailand/links/5dc175f9299bf1a47b189f44/largepreview.png)
This type of trauma can impact many people in the family including descendants further down the line than just the children of the people who have experienced the trauma. Intergenerational trauma, also known as multi- or transgenerational trauma, is defined by the American Psychological Association (APA) dictionary as “ a phenomenon in which the descendants of a person who has experienced a terrifying event show adverse emotional and behavioral reactions to the event that are similar to those of the person himself or herself.”