What Is Historical Trauma?

Historical trauma refers to emotional and psychological wounds lasting a lifetime and passing from one generation to another. The theory looks at modern-day psychological and physical illness stemming from past events inflicted on a racial, religious, or ethnic group. Historical trauma is based on the belief that unresolved grief from abuse in the past is passed from parent to offspring and accounts for a myriad of problems in certain cultures.

One example of historical trauma studied extensively focuses on Native American populations, which experience higher rates of alcoholism, suicide, diabetes, depression, and adolescent pregnancy than the general population. High rates of incarceration and domestic abuse also affect American Indians. Historical trauma looks at the mistreatment of these peoples by early American settlers, missionaries, and educators and how that history affects current behavior.

Some researchers believe the retelling of stories about how these people were expelled from their land and confined to remote reservations contributes to social and physical problems. Native Americans tend to relive the injustices and pass down the feelings of loss to children, experts found. One study theorized Native Americans believe suffering for past trauma is a way to honor their ancestors.

Psychologists working with these groups attempt to help people understand history as the root of their current problems. They aim to address unresolved grief that contributes to relationship and personal difficulties without forgetting the past. Historical trauma is considered a fairly innovative concept in sociology and psychology within the mental health field.

Opponents of the theory believe current trauma determines present-day health issues. They look to incidents of domestic abuse, for example, that might lead to alcoholism and depression. When people become depressed or victims of abuse, they face greater risks of physical ailments and are less likely to seek medical treatment, opponents say.

Historical trauma is also the subject of study involving Jewish Holocaust survivors, African-American slavery descendants, and war veterans. It explores how deprivation and group pain from external events in history affect subsequent generations. In war veterans, effects of post traumatic stress disorder might influence parenting skills.

One study delves into how individual memories evolve into collective memories among these groups of people. This might be especially true for people who were confined because of their race, ethnicity, or religion. If starvation, physical or sexual abuse, or severe punishment occurred, the pain remains in their collective consciousness and is passed from generation to generation, according to the study.