CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 212Posttraumatic Stress Disorder ResearchMemory, Trauma, and CommemorationChild Abuse and Trauma

Intergenerational consequences of the Holocaust on offspring mental health: a systematic review of associated factors and mechanisms

Open access
Dashorst, Patricia, Mooren, Trudy M., Kleber, Rolf J., de Jong, Peter J., Huntjens, Rafaele J. C.·2019·European Journal of Psychotraumatology
DOI 10.1080/20008198.2019.1654065PMC PMC6720013
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

Exposure to war and violence has major consequences for society at large, detrimental impact on people's individual lives, and may also have intergenerational consequences. To gain more insight into these intergenerational consequences, research addressing the impact of the Holocaust on offspring is an important source of information. The aim of the current study was to systematically review the mechanisms of intergenerational consequences by summarizing characteristics in Holocaust survivors and their offspring suggested to impact the offspring's mental health. We focused on: 1) parental mental health problems, 2) (perceived) parenting and attachment quality, 3) family structure, especially parental Holocaust history, 4) additional stress and life events, and 5) psychophysiological processes of transmission. We identified 23 eligible studies published between 2000 and 2018. Only Holocaust survivor studies met the inclusion criteria. Various parent and child characteristics and their interaction were found to contribute to the development of psychological symptoms and biological and epigenetic variations. Parental mental health problems, perceived parenting, attachment quality, and parental gender appeared to be influential for the mental well-being of their offspring. In addition, having two survivor parents resulted in higher mental health problems compared to having one survivor parent. Also, there was evidence suggesting that Holocaust survivor offspring show a heightened vulnerability for stress, although this was only evident in the face of actual danger. Finally, the results also indicate intergenerational effects on offspring cortisol levels. Clinical and treatment implications are discussed.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1080/20008198.2019.1654065

Cites

92 of 92 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Across genocide-affected populations, parental exposure has been associated with altered caregiving patterns characterized by overprotection, controlling behaviors, diminished warmth, and role-reversal dynamics.

    “Across genocide-affected populations, parental exposure has been associated with altered caregiving patterns characterized by overprotection, controlling behaviors, diminished warmth, and role-reversal dynamics (94–97, 100).”

    From Epigenetic changes associated with multi-generational trauma: characterization, mechanisms, and therapeutics (2026) · cites this paper as [94]

    The Introduction’s '(Perceived) parenting and attachment' section describes overprotection and role reversal in Holocaust survivor families. The Results section reports lower perceived maternal care, higher maternal overprotection, and greater emphasis on family rules. The review concerns Holocaust survivors and their offspring; it does not establish these patterns across genocide-affected populations generally. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The reviewed studies were consistent in reporting parent- and family-related variables as the most salient mechanisms of transmission.

    “As reported by Sangalang and Vang (2017) and as echoed in the broader intergenerational trauma field (Dashorst, Mooren, Kleber, de Jong, & Huntjens, 2019), the reviewed studies were consistent in reporting parent- and family-related variables as the most salient mechanisms of transmission.”

    From Crossing borders: a systematic review identifying potential mechanisms of intergenerational trauma transmission in asylum-seeking and refugee families (2020) · cites this paper as Dashorst, Mooren, Kleber, de Jong, & Huntjens, 2019

    The Discussion (page unavailable) reports associations involving parental mental health, parenting, attachment, and family conflict, so Dashorst et al. do echo the relevance of parent- and family-related factors. But the Discussion and Conclusion describe transmission as multifactorial, including offspring characteristics and biological factors; they do not say the reviewed studies consistently identified parent- and family-related variables as the most salient mechanisms. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Maternal survivor status has been more strongly associated with offspring psychological vulnerability compared to paternal exposure, with dual parental exposure corresponding to the highest reported risk.

    “Maternal survivor status has been more strongly associated with offspring psychological vulnerability compared to paternal exposure, with dual parental exposure corresponding to the highest reported risk (94).”

    From Epigenetic changes associated with multi-generational trauma: characterization, mechanisms, and therapeutics (2026) · cites this paper as [94]

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

1 of the 93 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Moos R. H., & Moos B. S (1994). Family environment scale manual. Consulting Psychologists Press.
  2. Spielberger C. D., Gorsuch R. L., & Lushene R. E (1968). State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI): Test Manual for Form X. Consulting Psychologists Press.
  3. Yehuda R., Daskalakis N. P., Bierer L. M., Bader H. N., Klengel T., Holsboer F., & Binder E. B. (2016). Holocaust exposure induced intergenerationaleffects on FKBP5 methylation. Journal of Biological Psychiatry, 80(5), 372– 380. 26410355

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Dashorst, P., Mooren, T. M., Kleber, R. J., de Jong, P. J., & Huntjens, R. J. C.
Affiliations
  • Foundation Centrum '45 (NL)
  • Stichting Centrum’45/partner in Arq, Diemen, The Netherlands
  • Utrecht University (NL)
  • Department of Clinical Psychology & Experimental Psychopathology, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
Corresponding author
Dashorst, Patricia
ORCID
Venue
European Journal of Psychotraumatology
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2019-08-30
Volume
10
Issue
1
Pages
1654065-1654065
ISSN
2000-8066 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1080/20008198.2019.1654065
PMC
PMC6720013
OpenAlex
W2970356242
Cited by
207
References
93
Citations by year
2026: 35 · 2025: 26 · 2024: 27 · 2023: 29 · 2022: 67 · 2021: 12 · 2020: 11
FWCI
3.56
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • European Journal of Psychotraumatology (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
  • Utrecht University Repository (Utrecht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Family Process Institute
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Research
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Memory, Trauma, and Commemoration
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child Abuse and Trauma
Keywords
Holocaust survivors, intergenerational transmission, offspring mental health, parental mental health, perceived parenting, attachment quality, family structure, parental gender, epigenetics, cortisol, stress vulnerability, war trauma

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review