Trauma
Trauma is a lasting response to highly distressing situations, including violence and abuse. This response can include negative effects on how a person thinks and behaves. Effects of trauma can be short-term (e.g., physical symptoms, memory problems, flashbacks) or longer-term (e.g., mental health issues, substance use). Trauma-informed approaches to care can help to decrease these negative effects and improve health outcomes.
Trauma can occur from a variety of sources, including abuse (physical, psychological, or sexual), medical procedures, accidents, natural or man-made disasters, refugee status, involvement in armed conflict, and unexpected loss of loved ones. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), trauma has three components (three Es):
Intergenerational Trauma
When trauma affects future generations who did not experience it directly, it is known as intergenerational trauma. In Canada, colonization, the residential school system, the Sixties Scoop, and the associated abuse and loss of language, culture, and traditions are associated with the intergenerational trauma experienced by Indigenous people. Other causes of intergenerational trauma include war, forced migration/displacement from a person’s home country, famine, and natural disasters.
Intergenerational trauma can impact relationships with family members and others, communication patterns, parenting styles, and overall health and well-being. Consequences of intergenerational trauma can include intergenerational transmission of violence, substance use, mental illness, and violence. Intergenerational transmission of violence refers to the impacts of violence being passed through generations. Studies show there is a connection between violence experienced in childhood and violence experienced and perpetrated in adolescence and adulthood. This can include first-hand exposure to violence or being a victim of violence.
For more information about intergenerational trauma, visit The Canadian Encyclopedia.