Monthly Archives: October 2010

On his website, Inheriting the Vietnam War Legacy, researcher Dr. Ken O’Brien summarizes his theory that genetics–or more precisely, epigenetics–play a role in the intergenerational transmission of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Dr. Ken O’Brien’s study, “The Intergenerational Transference of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder amongst Children and Grandchildren of Vietnam Veterans in Australia: An Argument for a Genetic Origin,”  supports a genetic origin for intergenerational PTSD.

In “Experts Watching Mental Health of Army Children,” the Army reveals that how soldiers’ stress levels affect their children is an underresearched area.

In her memoir, Falling through the Earth, Danielle Trussoni returns to Vietnam to explore the country where her father fought, as she explores memories of her childhood and how the war affected her family.

This article, “Talks with Dad Ease Vietnam Scars,” explores how my Vietnam veteran father’s symptoms of PTSD affected me, and chronicles our journey of reconciliation.

This article, “Soldiers’ Children are War Victims, Too,” focuses on secondary or intergenerational PTSD in children of war veterans, and provides current statistics on war’s effect on mental health.

This abstract of “Transgenerational Transmission of Cortisol and PTSD Risk” published by Rachel Yehuda and Linda Blerer in Progress in Brain Research (2007),  reports that adult children of Holocaust survivors with PTSD have a greater prevalence of PTSD themselves.  The … Continue reading →

This fact sheet explores how a parent’s PTSD symptoms may affect his or her children: http://www.ptsd.va.gov/public/pages/children-of-vets-adults-ptsd.asp

What does war-related intergenerational Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) mean to you?  Click the Comments link below for thoughts from our readers, and feel free to post your own.