ABSTRACT
This chapter presents knowledge pertaining to the genocide in Guatemala and its orphaned child survivors, specifically discussing both the trauma they endured and their posttraumatic growth (PTG). The chapter first discusses the prevalence of child survivors of genocides across the globe, followed by a discussion of child survivors of genocide as a distinct group of survivors and of their sequential traumatization. A study with a group of now-grown Guatemalan orphaned child survivors who were raised for the majority of their childhoods in a permanent residential home located in the majority Maya Indigenous highlands is presented. The results indicated that these survivors reported both negative effects of the experience of sequential traumatization because of their orphan status as well as significantly higher posttraumatic growth (PTG) than their non-orphaned peers who remained living with their families. These findings and factors that likely influenced survivors’ PTG are discussed and suggestions for future research with child survivors of genocide are offered.
