Understanding the Australian Aboriginal experience of collective, historical and intergenerational trauma

Abstract

This article provides a summary of the evolving definition of trauma, including different forms of trauma and its impact on the health, behaviours and well-being of individuals and communities. Specifically, it discusses collective, historical and intergenerational trauma and the value of these concepts in understanding the health and social challenges we see within colonized Indigenous communities, particularly within Australian Aboriginal communities. The article argues that the current approach to addressing challenges within Australian Indigenous communities will have limited impact unless accompanied by a significant focus on understanding and addressing the level of trauma that permeates these communities. Programmes and initiatives that focus on reducing the rates of certain variables, such as rates of infant mortality, rates of incarceration or rates of school completion, are very important but are only treating symptoms unless the underlying trauma is addressed. Due to the ongoing devastation caused by many years of forced child removal, this is especially important for health, legal and welfare practitioners within the child protection system and the social work field if we are to break the cycles of family and cultural disruption.

Facilitators and Barriers to Physical Activity and Sport Participation Experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Adults: A Mixed Method Review

“…Interrelationships were also seen between physical activity participation and mental health, with feeling happy and strong and wanting stress relief facilitating participation, while poor mental health was a barrier to participation. This highlights the role that sport and physical activity can play in improving wellbeing, given the historical factors and intergenerational trauma that have led to a high burden of mental illness and stress for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people [ 58 ]. The positive impact of sport and physical activity on social and emotional wellbeing experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is suggested [ 10 ], but greater empirical evidence is required across the life course.…”

Adverse Childhood Experiences, Associated Stressors and Comorbidities in Children and Youth with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder across the Child Protection and Justice Settings in Western Australia

“…Numerous studies have documented the long-term repercussions (e.g., intergenerational trauma, disconnection from family and culture) of colonisation in Aboriginal communities (12,42). While Aboriginal participants with FASD were disproportionately represented in the current study, cultural background was not signi cantly associated with the total ACEs score.…”

“…Children born with FASD often encounter a range of adverse psychosocial situations, such as having early childhood characterised by parental unemployment and substance/alcohol misuse, mental health problems, and child protection involvement (10,11). In Australian Aboriginal children with FASD, these adverse environmental factors may also occur within the context of historical and intergenerational trauma (12). (13) proposed that when a child with FASD is born into a vulnerable family, the functional impairments as a result of PAE are likely to be exacerbated.…”

Roadmap to recovery: Reporting on a research taskforce supporting Indigenous responses to COVID‐19 in Australia

“…Housing is the most critical issue exposed by the crisis and must be addressed as the urgent first‐order issue, in both the short‐term to accommodate isolation and quarantine measures, and in the longer‐term to aid in recovery and preparedness for future crises. The most vulnerable Indigenous people include victims of violence, the homeless and incarcerated, those impacted by natural disasters, people with disability and chronic illness, as well as Elders and members of Stolen Generations who have experienced historical and colonial trauma (Menzies 2019, p. 1526). In remote communities, the early strategy of returning people to Country may have limited Indigenous women’s access to support, making them even more vulnerable to family violence and unable to undertake meaningful safety planning (Hocking, 2020).…”