Personal characteristics of World War Two survivor offspring related to the presence of indirect intrusions

ABSTRACT

Background: A substantial proportion of clinical World War Two survivor offspring reports intrusions about war events they did not experience themselves.

Objective: To help identify factors that contribute to the development of such indirect intrusions (i.e. intrusions about non-self-experienced traumatic events), we examined the personal characteristics of survivor offspring that were related to the presence of indirect intrusions. To explore the specificity of these relationships, we compared characteristics related to the presence of indirect and direct intrusions (i.e. intrusions about self-experienced traumatic events).

Methods: Participants (N = 98) were post-war offspring of World War Two survivors in treatment in one of two clinics specialized in mental health services for war victims. We assessed the presence of indirect and direct intrusions as well as the following personal characteristics: gender, education level, trait dissociation, affect intensity, attentional control, mental imagery, fantasy proneness, and current psychopathology.

Results: Reports of indirect intrusions were more frequent in individuals high in fantasy proneness, trait dissociation, and current psychopathology. Reports of direct intrusions were more frequent in women, individuals scoring high on trait dissociation, affect intensity, and current psychopathology. Fantasy proneness was a unique correlate of indirect intrusions.

Conclusions: These findings are consistent with the idea that intrusions are the result of (re)constructive processes affected by several factors including personal characteristics.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Offspring of World War Two survivors often experience indirect intrusions.

• We examined personal characteristics related to indirect and direct intrusions.

• Fantasy proneness was the best predictor of indirect intrusions.

• Gender was the best predictor of direct intrusions.

Antecedentes: Una proporción sustancial de los descendientes sobrevivientes clínicos de la Segunda Guerra Mundial reportan intrusiones sobre eventos de guerra que no experimentaron ellos mismos.

Objetivo: Para ayudar a identificar los factores que contribuyen al desarrollo de tales intrusiones indirectas (es decir, intrusiones sobre eventos traumáticos no-auto-experimentados) examinamos las características personales de los hijos sobrevivientes que estaban relacionadas con la presencia de intrusiones indirectas. Para explorar la especificidad de estas relaciones, comparamos las características relacionadas con la presencia de intrusiones indirectas y directas (es decir, intrusiones sobre eventos traumáticos auto-experimentados).

Métodos: Los participantes (N = 98) fueron hijos de sobrevivientes de la Segunda Guerra Mundial que estaban en tratamiento en alguna de las dos clínicas especializadas en servicios de salud mental para víctimas de guerra. Se evaluó la presencia de intrusiones indirectas y directas, así como las siguientes características personales: sexo, nivel educativo, disociación de rasgos, intensidad afectiva, control atencional, imaginería mental, propensión a la fantasía y psicopatología actual.

Resultados: Los informes de intrusiones indirectas fueron más frecuentes en individuos con alta propensión a la fantasía, disociación de rasgos y psicopatología actual. Los informes de intrusiones directas fueron más frecuentes en mujeres, individuos con puntajes altos en disociación de rasgos, intensidad afectiva y psicopatología actual. La propensión a la fantasía fue un correlato único de las intrusiones indirectas.

Conclusiones: Estos hallazgos son consistentes con la idea de que las intrusiones son el resultado de procesos (re)constructivos afectados por varios factores, incluidas las características personales.

背景：很大一部分临床二战幸存者后代报告了他们自己没有经历过的战争事件的闯入。

目的：为了帮助识别导致此类间接闯入（即非自身经历创伤事件的闯入）的因素，我们考查了与间接闯入存在相关的幸存者后代的个人特征。为了探索这些关系的特殊性，我们比较了与存在间接和直接闯入（即对自我经历创伤事件的闯入）相关的特征。

方法：参与者（N = 98）是第二次世界大战幸存者的战后后代，他们在两个专门为战争受害者提供心理健康服务的诊所之一接受治疗。我们评估了间接和直接闯入的存在以及以下个人特征：性别、教育水平、特质分离、情感强度、注意力控制、心理意象、幻想倾向和当前精神病。

结果：在幻想倾向、特征分离和当前精神病高的个体中，间接闯入的报告更为频繁。报告直接闯入在女性和在特征分离、情感强度和当前精神病方面得分较高的个体更为常见。幻想倾向是间接闯入的独特相关因素。

结论：这些发现与闯入是受包括个人特征在内多个因素影响的（重新）建设性过程的结果观点一致。

KEYWORDS:

• Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• intrusive memories
• intergenerational trauma
• psychotrauma
• World War Two

PALABRAS CLAVE:

• Trastorno de Estrés Postraumático (TEPT)
• recuerdos intrusivos
• trauma intergeneracional
• psicotrauma

关键词:

• 创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）
• 闯入性记忆
• 代际创伤
• 心理创伤

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank dr. Ineke Wessel of the University of Groningen for her input during the design of the study, as well as the therapists, and the care and administration staff off ARQ Centrum ‘45 and Sinai Center for their assistance in patient recruitment and data collection. We especially thank the patients for their participation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Due to the nature of this research, participants of this study did not agree for their data to be shared publicly, so supporting data is not available.

Notes

1 The offspring did not experience World War Two themselves, although in the Former Dutch East Indies a liberation war (1945-1949) took place after the Japanese capitulation.

2 The subsample who reported parental World War Two events and did not report self-experienced events was small (n = 9) and was therefore not analysed separately.