Multigenerational Perspectives on Coping with the Holocaust Experience: An                 Attachment Perspective for Understanding the Developmental Sequelae of Trauma across Generations

Baron, Dror; Eland, Jeanette; Kleber, Rolf J.; Krell, Robert D.; Moore, Yael; Sagi, Abraham; Soriano, Erin; Suedfeld, Peter; Velden, Peter G. van der; IJzendoorn, M.H. van

doi:10.1080/016502598384397

Cited by 201 publications

(148 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…For example, adult witnesses reported how persecuted infants and toddlers ''knew'' not to move or to make any noise when their hiding place was searched by the Nazis, even when they were hidden under the floor, under layers of blankets, or in dark cupboards (Evers-Emden, 1994;Kestenberg & Brenner, 1996). However, child survivors who had to passively endure exposure to everchanging dangers, may have developed a weak sense of coherence and as a consequence might have become more vulnerable to posttraumatic stress symptoms (Bar-On et al, 1998;Van der Hal & Brom, 2007). A lack of options to participate in shaping outcomes was identified by Keilson (1992) as a cumulative traumatizing experience, as when, for example, during the post-Holocaust era war orphans became the victims of disputed guardianships and of decisions on their upbringing that were not always in their best interest.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Sense of coherence moderates late effects of early childhood Holocaust exposure

Raalte¹,

IJzendoorn

Bakermans‐Kranenburg

2008

J Clin Psychol

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This study evaluated child Holocaust survivors with an emphasis on potential protective factors facilitating participants' adaptation to post-Holocaust life. We examined Antonovsky's (1979, 1987) salutogenic paradigm, testing the mediating and moderating effect of participants' sense of coherence (SOC) on the association between early childhood deprivation due to Holocaust persecution and posttraumatic stress later in life. The nonclinical sample, composed of 203 child Holocaust survivors born between 1935 and 1944 completed questionnaires on Holocaust survival exposure, inventories on current health, posttraumatic stress, and SOC. The results indicated that SOC moderates the association between traumatic experiences during the war and posttraumatic stress, and SOC acts as a protective factor, buffering the impact of traumatic Holocaust experiences on child survivors in old age. Survivors with a less coherent perspective on the meaning of their life showed greater vulnerability for posttraumatic complaints. The moderating role of the SOC may suggest promising avenues of therapeutic interventions for child Holocaust survivors and other adults with early childhood trauma.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Sense of coherence moderates late effects of early childhood Holocaust exposure

Raalte¹,

IJzendoorn

Bakermans‐Kranenburg

2008

J Clin Psychol

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“…There is however some evidence that Holocaust survivors formed more anxious and less secure attachment with their children, and especially women survivors with their daughters (Bar-On et al, 1998;Brom, Kfir, & Dasberg, 2001;Sagi-Schwartz et al, 2003). While enmeshed mother-daughter dyads with anxious attachment do not constitute psychopathology, many clinicians and theoreticians of eating disorders have described this family constellation as one that may increase the risk for eating disorders (ED) and particularly for anorexia nervosa (AN; Bruch, 1973Bruch, , 1981Minuchin, Roseman, & Baker, 1988).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Holocaust exposure and disordered eating: a study of multi‐generational transmission

Zohar

Giladi

Givati

2006

Euro Eating Disorders Rev

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The nature of Holocaust exposure for second and third generations needs further study and clarification in relation to disordered eating. There is considerable disparity between the results of clinical and qualitative studies which tend to find a strong relationship between Holocaust exposure and psychopathology, and population-based quantitative studies which tend to find a much weaker relationship.

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“…For example, some clinical studies stressed the emotional distress transmitted over generations (e.g., Barocas & Barocas, 1973), but other studies failed to detect evidence for the transmission of psychopathology (e.g., Leon et al, 1981). Bar-On et al (1998) suggested that these inconsistencies in findings may relate to study characteristics, such as sampling method, research design, and target population (clinical vs. nonclinical). This suggestion turned out to be relevant also for the findings of the present meta-analysis on Holocaust survivors.…”

Section: The Long-term Consequences Of the Holocaustmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surviving the Holocaust: A meta-analysis of the long-term sequelae of a genocide.

Barel¹,

IJzendoorn²,

Sagi‐Schwartz³

et al. 2010

Psychological Bulletin

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183

133

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The current set of meta-analyses elucidates the long-term psychiatric, psychosocial, and physical consequences of the Holocaust for survivors. In 71 samples with 12,746 participants Holocaust survivors were compared with their counterparts (with no Holocaust background) on physical health, psychological wellbeing, posttraumatic stress symptoms, psychopathological symptomatology, cognitive functioning, and stressrelated physiology. Holocaust survivors were less well adjusted, as apparent from studies on nonselected samples (trimmed combined effect size d ϭ 0.22, 95% CI [0.13, 0.31], N ϭ 9,803) and from studies on selected samples (d ϭ 0.45, 95% CI [0.32, 0.59], N ϭ 2,943). In particular, they showed substantially more posttraumatic stress symptoms (nonselect studies: d ϭ 0.72, 95% CI [0.46, 0.98], N ϭ 1,763). They did not lag, however, much behind their comparisons in several other domains of functioning (i.e., physical health, stress-related physical measures, and cognitive functioning) and showed remarkable resilience. The coexistence of stress-related symptoms and good adaptation in some other areas of functioning may be explained by the unique characteristics of the symptoms of Holocaust survivors, who combine resilience with the use of defensive mechanisms. In most domains of functioning no differences were found between Israeli samples and samples from other countries. The exception was psychological well-being: For this domain it was found that living in Israel rather than elsewhere can serve as a protective factor. A biopsychological stress-diathesis model is used to interpret the findings, and future directions for research and social policy are discussed.

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Multigenerational Perspectives on Coping with the Holocaust Experience: An Attachment Perspective for Understanding the Developmental Sequelae of Trauma across Generations

Cited by 201 publications

References 41 publications

Sense of coherence moderates late effects of early childhood Holocaust exposure

Sense of coherence moderates late effects of early childhood Holocaust exposure

Holocaust exposure and disordered eating: a study of multi‐generational transmission

Surviving the Holocaust: A meta-analysis of the long-term sequelae of a genocide.

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