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Mechanisms Explaining the Relationship Between Maternal Torture Exposure and Youth Adjustment In Resettled Refugees: A Pilot Examination of Generational Trauma Through Moderated Mediation

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Abstract

The intergenerational effects of trauma resulting from torture and war are complex and multi-faceted and have important implications for the family system. The current study aimed to identify key relationships between refugee maternal caregiver exposure to torture, mental health, and physical health with maternal-reported youth adjustment. Ninety-six Karen maternal caregivers originating from Burma and resettled in the United States participated in a cross-sectional, explanatory mixed methods study. Maternal mental health distress was found to mediate the relationship betweenmaternal torture experiences and youth adjustment, R2 = .357. Physical health problems was found to moderate the degree to which mental health distress mediated the relationship between torture and war trauma experiences and youth adjustment, R2 = .409. The current study is significant in that it enhances our mechanistic understanding of factors relevant to the intergenerational effects of trauma within families where maternal caregivers experienced trauma from torture and/or war.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge the essential contributions in early project phases by the Center for Victims of Torture, headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota. Specifically, we thank the Director of Research, Craig Higson Smith for his guidance and expertise. We thank the Karen Organization of Minnesota for key project support. We attribute the depth and richness of the data, in part, to our interpreter, Ehtaguy Zar.

Funding

Research reported in this publication was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under Award Number K12HD055887. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Minnesota School of Nursing, 308 Harvard Street SE, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Sarah J. Hoffman, Jayne A. Fulkerson & Cheryl L. Robertson

  2. Graduate School of Professional Psychology, International Disaster Psychology Program, University of Denver, Denver, USA

    Maria M. Vukovich

  3. Department of Family Social Sciences, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA

    Abigail H. Gewirtz

  4. School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA

    Joseph E. Gaugler

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  1. Sarah J. Hoffman
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  2. Maria M. Vukovich
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  3. Abigail H. Gewirtz
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  4. Jayne A. Fulkerson
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  5. Cheryl L. Robertson
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  6. Joseph E. Gaugler
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Correspondence to Sarah J. Hoffman.

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Hoffman, S.J., Vukovich, M.M., Gewirtz, A.H. et al. Mechanisms Explaining the Relationship Between Maternal Torture Exposure and Youth Adjustment In Resettled Refugees: A Pilot Examination of Generational Trauma Through Moderated Mediation. J Immigrant Minority Health 22, 1232–1239 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-020-01052-z

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