Intergenerational Resilience in the Context of Parental Trauma: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Trauma, as a common global health concern, can transmit negative effects from traumatized parents to their children, yet many children demonstrate resilience despite this intergenerational transmission effect, which raises the possibility that targeted interventions could interrupt the cycle of trauma transmission. This systematic review examined factors that hinder or facilitate resilience in children of trauma-exposed parents, analyzing five studies involving 14,150 children from traumatized families across different trauma types including adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), war, refugee experiences, and military deployment. Meta-analysis identified parental trauma exposure level and parental mental health status as significant risk factors for offspring resilience, while qualitative findings identified parents' conscious protective efforts as key facilitating factors. This review also highlighted important limitations in intergenerational trauma transmission research, including inconsistent resilience and trauma measurement approaches, cultural adaptation challenges, and potential reporting biases due to trauma normalization. Findings suggest that interventions targeting parental mental health and conscious parenting behaviors represent viable pathways for enhancing offspring resilience in trauma-affected families.