Lecture 14: Historical Trauma & Mental Health

Question 1

what is historical trauma?

Answer 1

• A collectively experienced trauma in an ancestral generation that is collectively associated with poor mental health and physical health outcomes in descendent generations
• A cumulative emotional and psychological wounding over the lifespan and across generations, emanating from massive group trauma
• Historical unresolved grief accompanies that trauma
• One generation’s experiences can impact the health of future generations

Question 1

examples of historical trauma

Answer 1

colonization, the Holocaust, genocide, Apartheid

Question 2

examples of populations affected by historical trauma

Answer 2

• Japanese (WWll internment)
• Jewish holocaust survivors
• Prisoners of the Yom Kippur War
• Indigenous Canadians and Indigenous Americans
• Mexican Americans
• African Americans (slavery)
• Rwandans (genocide)

Question 3

historical trauma responses

Answer 3

• Survivor guilt
• Depression
• PTSD symptoms
• Psychic numbing
• Fixation to trauma
• Somatic (physical) symptoms
• Low self-esteem
• Victim identity
• Anger
• Self-destructive behaviour
• Suicidal ideation
• Hypervigilance
• Intense fear
• Dissociation
• Compensatory fantasies
• Poor affect (emotion) tolerance

Question 4

historical trauma is associated with:

Answer 4

• Poorer physical health (cardiovascular, immune, and metabolic systems, increased BMI, accelerated biological aging)
• Psychiatric disorders (PTSD)
• Psychological symptoms (anxiety, depressive symptoms, stress reactivity)
• Poor health behaviours (alcohol and substance abuse)

Question 5

DNA Methylation

Answer 5

a chemical reaction that results in a gene being turned on or off

Question 6

Epigenome

Answer 6

a collection of chemical marks that modify cellular DNA and proteins, and control how genes are expressed

Question 7

epigenetic sensitivity

Answer 7

• The epigenome is sensitive to environmental stressors, including trauma
• The timing of epigenetic sensitivity to the environment extends across the life course

Question 8

intergenerational changes in the epigenome

Answer 8

• Changes can be inherited across generations
• Parental stress can modify the epigenome and stress physiology in both the parent and offspring and these changes can impact both mental and physical health outcomes

Question 9

2 biological pathways for historical trauma to affect health

Answer 9

pathway 1: individual experience
pathways 2: intergenerational effects

Question 10

Pathway 1 Individual Experience

Answer 10

Members of historically traumatized populations also experienced an increased risk of stress/trauma in their daily lives in 4 ways

Question 11

4 ways historically traumatized populations experience increased risk of stress/trauma

Answer 11

• low SES
• discrimination
• historical loss
• exposure to aces

Question 12

low SES in pathway 1

Answer 12

associated with gene methylation, leading to poor mental health

Question 13

discrimination in pathway 1

Answer 13

discrimination is rooted in harm against people’s ancestors, making it extra harmful

Question 14

historical loss in pathway 1

Answer 14

• Represents feelings of loss directly resulting from historical trauma. Studies have found associations between historical loss and health disparities that tend to manifest in Indigenous people
• ex. Land, culture, language, family ties

Question 15

exposure to aces in pathway 1

Answer 15

stressful childhood events can lead to poor mental health incomes

Question 16

Pathway 2: Intergeneration Effects

Answer 16

• Environmentally-induced epigenetic modifications in parents can influence offspring biology and health
• Prenatal and early life exposures are key

Question 17

3 types of environmentally-induced epigenetic modifications in parents

Answer 17

• intrauterine signalling
• breastfeeding/milk composition
• parental care

Question 18

intrauterine signalling in pathway 1

Answer 18

when fetuses are in utero, it’s a period of epigenetic malleability. Aspects of the intrauterine environment can shape offspring’s epigenome

Question 19

Breastfeeding/milk composition in pathway 2

Answer 19

a lack of breastfeeding can have adverse effects on offspring health. Women who are part of populations that have been exposed to historical trauma are more likely to have stressors in their lives, making them less likely to breastfeed.

Question 20

Parental care in pathway 2

Answer 20

there is increased DNA methylation in infants whose mothers experienced high postpartum depression

Question 21

implications of historical trauma

Answer 21

• Historical trauma results in a greater frequency of trauma and stressor experience for the affected population, which can directly impact the epigenome
• Epigenetic modifications resulting from environmental exposures, such as early stress or adversity, are not necessarily permanent

Question 22

Historical Trauma and Unresolved Grif Intervention (Brave Hart, 1998)

Answer 22

• A resolution for mastery of trauma that has been demonstrated to be effective on small segments of the American Indian population who are demonstrating elevated levels of mental health symptoms
• Involves reconnecting people with culturally relevant ways of healing

Question 23

premise of the Historical Trauma and Unresolved Grif Intervention

Answer 23

parents who have been wounded by historical trauma will need support to address their trauma before they can be fully emotionally present caregivers

Question 24

results of the Historical Trauma and Unresolved Grif Intervention

Answer 24

Before the intervention, Indigenous people reported high levels of anger, sadness, guilt, shame, and low levels of joy. The intervention increased a sense of personal power, purpose, and joy while reducing anger, sadness, guilt, and shame

Question 25

gene expression and historical trauma

Answer 25

• Just because you have a gene, doesn’t mean that it will be expressed
• Usually, you must also experience a stressor for an epigenetic change to be expressed