ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 delineates the trauma systems and trauma ecology framework used for studying the transgenerational legacy of trauma. This approach captures both the wholeness and the diversity of traumatic experiences and emphasizes their interconnectedness as well as the social, historical, and cultural contexts in which they occur. It has been established that culture plays a major role in mediating trauma experience and its expression (e.g., idioms of distress). Recognition of trauma symptoms in generations that have not been exposed to the adversity themselves creates the illusion of transgenerational “trauma contagion,” which echoes the myth of karmic causes of misfortune. I argue that while the symptoms of transgenerational trauma may resemble those of posttraumatic stress disorder, these are essentially different phenomena. The parallels in presentation are better explained by the functional convergence of trauma reactions related to their inherently adaptive nature, or using similar solutions to similar problems. It is proposed that these trauma-related behaviors, cognitions, and beliefs could have been learned from survivors who found them helpful enough to teach them to their children.
