Sprache/n: Englisch ohne Simultanübersetzung
1581:
Transgenerational Mental Health – implications for indigenizing nursing and nursing education in Canada
Melodie Hull | College of the Rockies and Thompson Rivers University | Canada
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Autor:
Melodie Hull | College of the Rockies and Thompson Rivers University | Canada
Melodie Hull, RPN, MSC, MED
Nursing - College of the Rockies and Thompson Rivers University
British Columbia, Canada
This short presentation will begin with a brief introduction to the First Nations of Canada. From a transgenerational mental health perspective, the presenter will identify a number of core mental health challenges they face such as dysfunctional families, alcohol and substance abuse, sexual abuse, suicidality. She will identify themes arising from some of the current Canadian literature on the topic of transgenerational mental health in aboriginal peoples. The effects of oppression over multiple generations will be key concepts explored along with poverty, neglect, abuse, and the effects of a mandatory residential school system designed to strip the First Nations of their culture and identity. Implications for inclusive, culturally safe and sensitive nursing education and the development of evidence-based best practices in nursing care will be explored. (This has been mandated for the health professions in Canada.) Finally, an ethical question of who is and/or who should be doing the research on transgenerational mental health with aboriginal peoples in Canada will be opened for discussion.
2274:
Negotiating Transgenerational Trauma Under Fire
Dr. Naama de la Fontaine | Yale Child Study Center-Trauma Section | United States
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Autor:
Dr. Naama de la Fontaine | Yale Child Study Center-Trauma Section | United States
Negotiating Transgenerational Trauma Under Fire
Naama de la Fontaine, Ph.D.
Introduction: The study of transgenerational trauma at the familial level has led to an
increased appreciation of the impact of trauma on survivors’ offspring. However, such
families often operate within the context of a traumatized society and culture. Given the
vital role of social support in trauma recovery, injured societies may hinder the complex
recovery process of its members. Though an abundance of studies have investigated
physiologically based transmission of mental illness across generations, there is a need to
examine the societal and implicit mechanisms by which certain mental illnesses are
passed on from one generation to the next. Trauma-related reactions among survivors’
offspring offer a potent example of such mechanisms. The study of transgenerational
trauma is particularly relevant to the Jewish nation, for whom repeated trauma has led to
the formation of a closely-knit culturally- and nationally-based “family”. Israel, a country
facing ongoing political and religious turmoil, serves as a paradigm for understanding the
complex interaction between individuals’ mental health and belief systems within the
context of a highly collective society, tightly bound by centuries of suffering and
resurrection. Like trauma transmitted within the family, the young Israeli generation of
mandated soldiers is forced to grapple with a long history of collective and personal
traumatic memory, while simultaneously facing substantial current-day dilemmas. This
population offers a unique perspective on the transmission and impact of familial and
culturally based traumatic responses to offspring during their own transition to
independence and adulthood.
Method: This study examines the transmission and impact of transgenerational trauma as
reflected in the war narratives of Israeli soldiers who fought in the 2006 Second Lebanon
War. Twenty-four male Jewish, Israeli soldiers (ages 22 to 29), who participated in active
combat as part of their mandated service (beginning at age 18), were administered a
semi-structured interview. Interviews were analyzed utilizing Hill’s (1997) Consensual
Qualitative Research method and common themes pertinent to soldiers’ beliefs and
mental health functioning were identified.
Results: Narratives shed light on both internal and interpersonal processes that contribute
to Israeli soldiers’ motivation to fight at war and their capacity to cope with war-related
trauma. Findings offer an in-depth multi-layered understanding of the nuanced, authentic
and distinctive experiences of individuals affected by both current and historical, personal
and societal dynamics. Thus, findings reveal offsprings’ need to negotiate individualistic
beliefs with those prescribed by a collective ancestral memory as a basic coping
mechanism in the face of potentially traumatic experiences.
Conclusion: In a time of increasing culturally and nationally based trauma worldwide,
there is a growing need to examine the impact of collective, transgenerational trauma, on
the mental health and functioning of young adults in their transition to independence.
Such investigations will lead to interventions that take into account these complex
factors, increasing offspring’s capacity for self-awareness, and freeing them from the
shackles of the ancestral traumas.