Processes and Outcomes in Intergenerational Transmission Of
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THREE DEGREES OF SEPARATION: PROCESSES AND OUTCOMES IN INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA IN SECOND AND THIRD GENERATION HOLOCAUST SURVIVORS Vivien Silbert BA (Hons), Dip. Ed (Monash University), Grad Dip App Psych (Swinburne University). Faculty of Life and Social Sciences Swinburne University of Technology Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia Being a report of an investigation submitted as a requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy March 2010 ii DECLARATION I declare that this dissertation is my own account of my research and does not contain any work that has been previously submitted for a degree at any institution, except where due reference is made in the text. To the best of my knowledge this thesis contains no material published by another person, except where due reference has been made. The ethical principles for research as stipulated by the Australian Psychological Society and Swinburne University of Technology have been adhered to in this research. …………………………………………………………………………… Vivien Silbert March 2010 iii ABSTRACT Although not exposed to the experiences of their parents, there is substantial research evidence that many children of survivors of the Holocaust suffered traumatization. However, much less is known about whether Holocaust trauma continues to be transmitted to the grandchildren of survivors. The primary contribution of this thesis was to examine the long-term effects of Holocaust trauma and how it is transmitted from Holocaust survivor women to their daughters (second generation) and granddaughters (third generation) within an Australian community sample. A further aim was to compare the processes and outcomes of transmission of trauma in the two family generations. Particular emphasis was on the impact of the parenting received by the second generation on the way they parented their own children. Three related studies were conducted. Study one was a quantitative analysis using self- report measures of perceptions of maternal engagement and personality styles. Data from the second generation daughters of survivors were compared to a control group of Jewish women whose mothers had not been exposed to Holocaust trauma and to the third generation women. The sample included 60 Jewish women. Twenty were daughters of Holocaust survivors (M = 51.5 years), 20 were daughters of Jewish women whose mothers were born in Australia (M = 49.5 years), and 20 were granddaughters of Holocaust survivors (M = 23.5 years). As hypothesized, and consistent with much research, findings showed differences between daughters from survivor and non-survivor backgrounds. Holocaust survivor mothers were perceived by their daughters as more overprotective but less emotionally expressive and caring than the Australian-born mothers of their counterparts. Daughters of survivors were iv less individuated, shared less intimacy, and were more intimidated by their mothers than the control group. They also showed a greater need for autonomous achievement as indicated by higher levels of perfectionism and self-criticism than the daughters of Australian-born women. The most significant finding was that third generation daughters viewed their mothers as equally over protective as second generation women perceived their own mothers. However, second generation women were seen as showing their daughters higher levels of emotional care than they had received. Thus, while exhibiting similar levels of over protectiveness, the second generation women provided a different model of parenting with regard to emotional care. Studies 2 and 3 elaborated on study 1 through in-depth qualitative analyses of the second and third generation Holocaust groups. This provided a deeper understanding of the subjective, lived experience of growing up as the child and grandchild of a Holocaust survivor in Australia. Study 2 focused on processes and outcomes of transmission of trauma in the second generation with emphasis on their perceptions of their upbringing and on the way they parented their own children. Findings aligned with past qualitative research regarding direct and indirect processes of trauma transmission. The presence of on-going effects of the Holocaust in all second generation women was demonstrated as well as profound influences on their parenting. Study 3 was an exploratory analysis of the effects of Holocaust trauma on the lives of the third generation together with the way this transmission occurred. The processes and effects of transmission in the two generations of Holocaust offspring were also compared. The third generation women demonstrated varying degrees of ongoing effects associated with the Holocaust. Most commonly, these featured a sense of vulnerability. v Collectively, findings from all three studies demonstrate that, while not psychopathological, second and third generation non-clinical Australian women endure ongoing negative effects associated with Holocaust trauma. Both generations continue to experience fear, burden of the past, despair and feelings of difference. While effects related to burden and despair were diluted in the third generation, fear- based effects such as anxiety and distrust, and feelings of being different appeared equally strong. Processes of transmission through intrapsychic means and the family environment were less evident in the third than the second generation. A particularly important discovery was the role played by survivor grandmothers in imparting trauma-related effects directly to the third generation. The combined effect of grandmothers and mothers in communicating messages about the Holocaust to the third generation suggests a multi-generational model of transmission. Both qualitative and quantitative data reveal a much more positive picture of the second generation as mothers in comparison to survivor mothers. However, it appears that some negative aspects of their upbringing were adopted, although not necessarily consciously, and repeated in the parenting of their own children. In addition, sources outside of the family, most particularly media and Jewish schools, were clearly implicated in trauma transmission to the third generation. Implications and findings for future research on the second and third generations and clinical practice are described. vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS So often in the arduous course of researching and writing this thesis, I fantasized about the job being done and having nothing more to do than write this page expressing my gratitude to all those who had assisted, encouraged and suffered with me on the long and lonely road. First, thank you to Professor Glen Bates for his critical and careful guidance in overseeing the project, his steadying influence and abundant patience. Thanks also to Dr. Naomi Crafti for a second perspective and to Dr. Roger Cook who provided constructive feedback in the final stages. This thesis would not have been possible without the generosity of the participants who gave so freely of their time and were happy to share their innermost experiences. My thanks to Nadine Davidoff and Dr. Iva Rosario who assisted in the onerous task of editing and proof-reading, and to Dr. Michelle Greenwood for her practical support and advice, particularly with technical matters. I would also like to thank a number of special friends and my sister Jenny who helped me sustain motivation and respected my need to be antisocial for far too long. Thanks in particular to Dhyan Stein who was my sounding board right from the start and spurred me on even in the dark hours of the night. I am deeply indebted to my husband Gavin for his tireless emotional and practical support, his invaluable assistance in word-crafting, and for always being available to “listen”. Without him, this thesis would not have reached completion. Thanks to my children Carla, James and Guy for their understanding and encouragement and never demanding that I put this “on hold” for their needs. Finally, thanks to my mother, Piry Weiss, a survivor, who in spite of her own sensitivity and reservations about my research topic, encouraged me in my pursuits and willingly shared her insights. I am extremely grateful for her tremendous kindness vii in offering me her clean apartment in which to write this thesis and for the endless lunches, dinners and hot cups of tea she provided. She is my inspiration in how to live, love, and confront challenges. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ii ABSTRACT iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS vi TABLE OF CONTENTS viii LIST OF TABLES xii LIST OF APPENDICES xiii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW TO INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA 1 1.1 Introduction 1 1.2 Thesis Overview 8 CHAPTER TWO: OUTCOMES OF HOLOCAUST TRAUMA 11 2.1 Introduction 11 2.2 Definitions of Trauma 11 2.2.1 Psychic Trauma 11 2.2.2 Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) 12 2.2.3 Definitions of Trauma in Holocaust Literature 13 2.3 Psychological Effects in the First Generation 14 2.4 Psychological Effects in the Second Generation 16 2.4.1 Early Clinical Studies 16 2.4.2 Comparative Studies 18 2.4.3 Qualitative Studies 28 2.5 Psychological Effects in the Third Generation 39 2.6 Outcomes of Trauma in Three Generational Studies 43 2.6.1 Clinical Studies 43 2.6.2 Comparative Studies 44 2.6.3 Mixed Method Studies 44 2.6.4 Qualitative Studies 45 2.7 Summary and Conclusions 49 CHAPTER THREE: PROCESSES OF TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA 52 3.1 Introduction 52 3.2 Direct Transmission 54 3.2.1 Projective Identification 55 3.2.2 Transposition 57 3.2.3 Self - Object Confusion 58 3.2.4 Large Group Identity and Chosen Trauma 59 ix 3.2.5 Traumatic Memory 60 3.3 Indirect Transmission 61 3.3.1 Transmission through Non-verbal and Verbal Communication 62 3.3.2 Attachment and Family Systems Models of Transmission 67 3.3.3 Vicarious Learning 70 3.3.4 Family Environment 71 3.4 Biological and Genetic Models 73 3.5 Kellerman’s Integrative Model of Trauma Transmission 74 3.6 Summary 75 CHAPTER FOUR: THE PRESENT RESEARCH 77 4.1 Introduction 77 4.2 Personal Statement 77 4.3 Purpose of the Research 79 4.4 Role of Parenting 81 4.5 Rationale for Methodology 82 4.5.1 Quantitative Methodology 83 4.5.2 Qualitative Methodology 84 4.5.3 Use of a Female Sample 85 4.5.4 An Australian Community Sample 85 4.6 Research Questions 86 CHAPTER FIVE: STUDY 1.