title: The transmission of trauma in refugee families: associations between intra-family trauma communication style, children's attachment security and psychosocial adjustment.
abstract: This study explores the transmission of trauma in 30 Middle Eastern refugee families in Denmark, where one or both parents were referred for treatment of PTSD symptoms and had non-traumatized children aged 4-9 years. The aim of the study was to explore potential risk and protective factors by examining the association between intra-family communication style regarding the parents' traumatic experiences from the past, children's psychosocial adjustment and attachment security. A negative impact of parental trauma on children might be indicated, as children's Total Difficulties Scores on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) were significantly higher than the Danish norms. A negative association between children's attachment security as measured by the Attachment and Traumatization Story Task and higher scores on the SDQ Total Difficulties Scale approached significance, suggesting that the transmission of trauma may be associated with disruptions in children's attachment representations. Furthermore a significant association between parental trauma communication and children's attachment style was found.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark.
authors.forename: Nina Thorup
authors.initials: NT
authors.lastname: Dalgaard
authors.affiliation: b Psychology Department , School of Social Sciences, City University London , London , UK.
authors.forename: Brenda Kathryn
authors.initials: BK
authors.lastname: Todd
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of Copenhagen , Copenhagen , Denmark.
authors.forename: Sarah I F
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Daniel
authors.affiliation: c DIGNITY-Danish Institute Against Torture , Copenhagen , Denmark.
authors.forename: Edith
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Montgomery
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003142:Communication; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008603:Mental Health; D008877:Middle East / Q000208:ethnology; D009769:Object Attachment; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012036:Refugees / Q000523:psychology*; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000523:psychology*
keywords: Transgenerational transmission of trauma; attachment security; intra-family trauma communication; mental health; refugee children