PSYCHOSOCIAL EFFECTS OF THE HOLOCAUST ON AGING SURVIVORS AND THEIR FAMILIES (original) (raw)
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Aging & Mental Health, 2011
Objective: The Holocaust has become an iconic example of immense human-made catastrophes, and survivors are now coping with normal aging processes. Childhood trauma may leave the survivors more vulnerable when they are facing stress related to old age, whereas their offspring might have a challenging role of protecting their own parents from further pain. Here we examine the psychological adaptation of Holocaust survivors and their offspring in light of these new challenges, examining satisfaction with life, mental health, cognitive abilities, dissociative symptoms, and physical health. Methods: Careful matching of female Holocaust survivors and comparison subjects living in Israel was employed to form a case-control study design with two generations, including four groups: 32 elderly female Holocaust survivors and 47 daughters, and 33 elderly women in the comparison group, and 32 daughters (total N ¼ 174). Participants completed several measures of mental and physical health, and their cognitive functioning was examined. The current study is a follow-up of a previous study conducted 11 years ago with the same participants. Results: Holocaust survivors showed more dissociative symptomatology (odds ¼ 2.39) and less satisfaction with their life (odds ¼ 2.79) as compared to a matched group. Nonetheless, adult offspring of Holocaust survivors showed no differences in their physical, psychological, and cognitive functioning as compared to matched controls. Conclusions: Holocaust survivors still display posttraumatic stress symptoms almost 70 years after the trauma, whereas no intergenerational transmission of trauma was found among the second generation.
Challenges for aging Holocaust survivors and their children: The impact of early trauma on aging
Is the impact of early trauma continually present or does the negative psychological impact disappear when survivors are younger and then reappear as they age? In Transcending Trauma Project interviews survivors noted the impact of the Holocaust was always present but some stated that it increased as they aged. A small number of children of survivors interviewed observed a dependence upon defense mechanisms to cope with aging which differed from the survivors' identification of using active and family coping strategies during the war and postwar years. Though children who experienced positive parent-child relationships mentioned the negative coping strategies, they also spoke positively of the impact of their parents in their own lives and expressed empathy for their parents. In the families where tensions existed between the survivors and their children, the children did not express empathy for their aging parents. Several studies supported the importance of family relationships in the aging process. This secondary analysis study further explored the impact of the Holocaust in aging survivors and the views of some children of survivors on aging.
Research Issues Surrounding Holocaust Survivors: Adaptability and Aging
The Journal of Sociology Social Welfare, 2015
The thesis of this article is that, in spite of a large body of literature on the subject, a significant need exists for sociological research on the long-term consequences of the trauma experienced by survivors of Nazi concentration camps. Most of what is known about the adjustment of Holocaust survivors is based upon limited case histories of survivors who sought psychiatric aid, or requested assistance in qualifying for indemnification payments from the German government. The social and psychological dynamics of successful adjustment to life after the traumatic Holocaust experience by the majority of survivors has largely been ignored. Reasons for this oversight are discussed, and several areas of further research are suggested.
Holocaust Survivors in Old Age: The Jerusalem Longitudinal Study
Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2008
OBJECTIVES: To examine the hypothesis that Holocaust exposure during young adulthood negatively affects physical aging, causing greater morbidity, faster deterioration in health parameters, and shorter survival. DESIGN: A longitudinal cohort study of the natural history of an age-homogenous representative sample born in 1920/21 and living in Jerusalem. SETTING: Community-based home assessments. PARTICIPANTS: Four hundred fifty-eight subjects of European origin aged 70 at baseline and 77 at follow-up. MEASUREMENTS: Comprehensive assessment of physical, functional, and psychosocial domains; biographical history of concentration camp internment (Camp), exposure to Nazi occupation during World War II (Exposure), or lack thereof (Controls); and 7-year mortality data from the National Death Registry. RESULTS: Holocaust survivors of the Camp (n 5 93) and Exposure (n 5 129) groups were more likely than Controls (n 5 236) to be male and less educated and have less social support (P 5.01), less physical activity (P 5.03), greater difficulty in basic activities of daily living (P 5.009), poorer self-rated health (P 5.04), and greater usage of psychiatric medication (P 5.008). No other differences in health parameters or physical illnesses were found. Holocaust survivors had similar rates of deterioration in health and illness parameters over the follow-up period, and 7-year mortality rates were identical. Proportional hazard models showed that being an elderly Holocaust survivor was not predictive of greter 7-year mortality. CONCLUSION: Fifty years after their Holocaust trauma, survivors still displayed significant psychosocial and functional impairment, although no evidence was found to support the hypothesis that the delayed effects of the trauma of the Holocaust negatively influence physical health, health trajectories, or mortality.
Effects of the Holocaust: Psychiatric, Behavioral, and Survivor Perspectives, The
1984
In this paper the authors review perspectives related to Holocaust victims, limitations of Holocaust studies are discussed, and suggestions for viewing the long-range post-traumatic effects of the Holocaust upon its victims from social and behavioral science perspectives are advanced. The views of survivors toward postwar adjustment, drawn from interviews with Holocaust victims, are also presented.
Development and Psychopathology, 2007
The long-term effects of extreme war-related trauma on the second and the third generation of Holocaust survivors HS! were examined in 88 middle-class families. Differences in functioning between adult offspring of HS~HSO! and a comparison group, as well as the psychosocial functioning of adolescent grandchildren of HS, were studied. Degree of presence of Holocaust in the family was examined in families in which both parents were HSO, either mother or father was HSO, and neither parent was HSO. Mothers' Holocaust background was associated with higher levels of psychological distress and less positive parenting representations. In line with synergic~multiplicative! models of risk, adolescents in families where both parents were HSO perceived their mothers as less accepting and less encouraging independence, and reported less positive self-perceptions than their counterparts. They also perceived their fathers as less accepting and less encouraging independence, showed higher levels of ambivalent attachment style, and according to their peers, demonstrated poorer adjustment during military basic training than their fellow recruits from the one-parent HSO group. Parents and adolescents in the one-parent HSO group functioned similarly to others with no Holocaust background. Parenting variables mediated the association across generations between degree of Holocaust experience in the family of origin of the parents and ambivalent attachment style and self-perception of the adolescents. It is recommended that researchers and clinicians develop awareness of the possible traces of trauma in the second and the third generation despite their sound functioning in their daily lives.
International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 2004
ObjectiveAlthough high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psychological morbidity have been consistently reported in Holocaust survivors (HS), reports are inconsistent about which factors are associated with psychological morbidity. In a study of the oldest HS cohort yet reported, we aim to clarify why this variability exists by examining factors associated with PTSD and psychological morbidity, including for the first time measures of personality and defense mechanisms.Although high rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psychological morbidity have been consistently reported in Holocaust survivors (HS), reports are inconsistent about which factors are associated with psychological morbidity. In a study of the oldest HS cohort yet reported, we aim to clarify why this variability exists by examining factors associated with PTSD and psychological morbidity, including for the first time measures of personality and defense mechanisms.MethodsOne hundred HS randomly selected from a convenience sample of 309 respondents to a survey of Jewish persons aged 60 years and older living in the community in Sydney were assessed using the following instruments: demographics, severity of trauma experienced, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), PTSD diagnosis (DSM-IV), Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Impact of Events Scale, Defense Style Questionnaire, modified Eysenck Personality Inventory.One hundred HS randomly selected from a convenience sample of 309 respondents to a survey of Jewish persons aged 60 years and older living in the community in Sydney were assessed using the following instruments: demographics, severity of trauma experienced, General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), PTSD diagnosis (DSM-IV), Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Impact of Events Scale, Defense Style Questionnaire, modified Eysenck Personality Inventory.ResultsOlder age, experience of more severe trauma, use of immature defense mechanisms and higher neuroticism were associated with significant PTSD and psychological morbidity; severity of trauma was associated with PTSD and with more severe psychological morbidity.Older age, experience of more severe trauma, use of immature defense mechanisms and higher neuroticism were associated with significant PTSD and psychological morbidity; severity of trauma was associated with PTSD and with more severe psychological morbidity.ConclusionsA profile of survivors at-risk can be identified that may have application to survivors of more recent holocausts. Late life may be a period of vulnerability in the aftermath of severe trauma. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.A profile of survivors at-risk can be identified that may have application to survivors of more recent holocausts. Late life may be a period of vulnerability in the aftermath of severe trauma. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Tracing long-term effects of early trauma: A broad-scope view of Holocaust survivors in late life
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 2003
This study addressed long-term effects of extreme trauma among Holocaust survivors (N ϭ 126) in an older (75-94 years) sample of the Israeli Jewish population. Survivors were compared with Europeandescent groups that had immigrated either before World War II (n ϭ 206) or after (n ϭ 145). Participants in the latter group had had Holocaust-related life histories but did not consider themselves survivors. Controlling for sociodemographics, the results indicated that survivors fared worse than prewar immigrants in certain psychosocial domains, mainly cumulative distress and activity, rather than in healthrelated ones. Survivors and postwar immigrant comparisons had almost no differences. The study highlights the need for a wide view of functioning facets and comparison groups in delineating late posttraumatic effects.
Journal of Traumatic Stress, 2003
The present study assessed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, psychological distress, and subjective quality of life (QoL) in a group of 43 child Holocaust survivors and a community sample of 44 persons who had not personally experienced the Holocaust. The participants were administered the PTSD-Scale, the SCL-90, and the WHOQOL-Bref. Results showed that the child survivors had higher PTSD symptom scores, higher depression, anxiety, somatization, and anger-hostility scores; and lower physical, psychological, and social QoL than did the comparison group. The findings suggest that the psychological consequences of being a child during the Holocaust can be long lasting.
Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 1989
The present study explored the differences between male and female Holocaust survivors (n = 34) and controls (n = 34) who were similar to the survivors but had not been victims of the Holocaust Half of the respondents were from the city and the other half were from the Kibbutz. The main dependent measures included the CAQ, the TSCS, and a specially designed Centrality of Family scale. Survivors were worse off psychologically than comparison individuals on the quality of emotional life, on emotional expression, and on the quality of interpersonal relations. Also, survivors assigned relatively greater value to their postwar families. City survivors seem to be worse off than Kibbutz survivors, and male survivors from the city had the lowest scores on several key subscales. These data were corroborated and extended by a content analysis of an open-ended interview conducted after the objective measures had been completed. The findings and their implications for understanding the effects of massive traumatization over individuals' life cycles are discussed. After the Second World War, mental health professionals coined the term survivor's syndrome to define the psychopathology that afflicted survivors of the Holocaust (Krystal, 1968; Meerioo, 1963). Past discussions of this syndrome have noted changes in survivors' quality of emotional life, interpersonal relations, and functioning as spouses and parents. Reports on survivors' quality of emotional life have noted a chronic sense of anxiety (e.g., De Graaf, 1975) and depressiveness (e.g., Niederland, 1968)aswell as feelings of guilt (Chodoff, 1986). This guilt (Klein, 1973) has been linked to other phenomena like the difficulty of survivors (Krystal, 1968) and their descendants (Nadler, Kav-Venaki, & Gleitman, 1985) to externalize aggression. Difficulties in emotional expression (e.g., Danieli. 1982; Kav-Venaki, Nadler, & Gershoni, 1985), which may explain the high frequency of psychosomatic complaints (e.g., Eitinger, 1972), have also been noted.