By Aspasia Celia Tsampas and Ania Wojas, The Campus, February 9, 2020
Most people are aware of what trauma does to one’s general health. Extreme stress caused by an event can alter not only someone’s mental health, but physical health as well. However, is it possible that the trauma of our ancestors and past generations can be passed down to future generations?
In all the world’s tragedies throughout history, many entire groups of people have undergone extreme stress and trauma. A recent study conducted by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) suggests that the experiences of our parents, grandparents, and even great grandparents, may be passed down through our DNA– allowing future generations to inherit that trauma. The study particularly looked at survivors of the Civil War, especially prisoners of war (POW) and their offspring. They found that the sons of army soldiers who endured grueling conditions as POWs were more likely to die young than the sons of soldiers who were not imprisoned. This pattern is despite the fact that the sons were born after the war, so they could not have experienced its horrors personally. The study states that these findings are, “most consistent with an epigenetic explanation” and do not align with other factors such as socioeconomic standing, family structure, etc.
This study is not the first time humans have questioned the likelihood of a genetic link for trauma. A study analyzing Holocaust survivors at Bar Ilan University in Israel suggests that, “Holocaust survivors suffering from a post-traumatic stress disorder and their adult offspring exhibit more unhealthy behavior patterns and age less successfully in comparison to survivors with no signs of PTSD or parents who did not experience the Holocaust and their offspring.”
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