Transgenerational consequences of PTSD: risk factors for the mental health of children whose mothers have been exposed to the Rwandan genocide
Roth M, Neuner F, Elbert T. Transgenerational consequences of PTSD: risk factors for the mental health of children whose mothers have been exposed to the Rwandan genocide. Int J Ment Health Syst. 2014 Apr 1;8(1):12.
The aim of the present investigation, conducted in Rwanda, was to establish whether Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in mothers is associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and aggressive and antisocial behaviour in their children. A community sample of 125 Rwandan mothers who experienced the genocide of 1994 and their 12-year-old children were interviewed, using a structured interview.
In showing that a maternal PTSD was not associated with child's psychopathology, the results contradict the assumption of straight "trans-generational trauma transmission". Instead, a child's exposure to maternal family violence posed a significant risk factor for a negative mental health outcome. Furthermore, it was not maternal PTSD-symptoms but mother's exposure to family violence during her own childhood that was associated with the magnitude of adversities that a child experiences at home.
Contrary to a simple model of a trans-generational transmission of trauma, neither maternal PTSD nor maternal traumatic experiences were directly associated with symptoms of anxiety, depression, or antisocial and aggressive behaviour in the children. Instead, the present results suggest a relationship between parental child rearing practices and children's mental health. Furthermore, the study details the "cycle of violence", showing a significant link between maternal violence against a child and its mother's experience of childhood maltreatment.