Department of Psychology, Tulane University.
Psychol Trauma. 2024 Mar;16(3):363-373. doi: 10.1037/tra0001236. Epub 2022 May 5.
Transmitting trauma narratives is intergenerational by nature. Few studies have taken a qualitative approach to analyzing the most pervasive trauma of the United States: the chattel slavery of Black people. Examining the lived experiences of the formerly enslaved, through their childhood and adult narrative memories of personal and second-hand interactions with White authority figures, is critical to the recognition of today's ongoing impact of policing, generational trauma, and mental health in the African American community.
Using interviews archived in the Library of Congress from women ( = 19) who were identified as being members of the last living generation of formerly enslaved African Americans, researchers used a feminist-forward grounded theory methodology to understand the following: (a) What are the historical relationships between African Americans and White authority figures? (b) What are the memories associated with the interactions between African Americans and White authority figures? (c) How did these interaction processes come to be? and (d) How did these memories get passed on?
The analysis of childhood memories and interactions between enslavers and African Americans close to home (i.e., on the plantation) produced six themes: (a) enmeshment with enslaver, (b) enslaver as good, (c) caretaking by enslaver, (d) enslaver control, (e) violent control by policing figures, and (f) following orders. Theoretical coding led to the formation of a full model of the function of power within the herstorical policing of African Americans close to home.
The themes uncovered highlight the potentially traumatic violence and control that characterized the environment in which enslaved children lived and the systems through which White power was maintained. The herstorical analysis and results confirm the ways police violence has sought to control and harm African Americans for over 400 years and underscores the role that police violence has played in the perpetuation of intergenerational trauma and the maintenance of White power. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).
创伤叙事本质上是代际相传的。很少有研究采用定性方法分析美国最普遍的创伤：黑人的奴隶制度。通过研究曾经被奴役的人的生活经历，通过他们对个人和与白人权威人物的第二手互动的童年和成年叙事记忆，对于认识当今美国非裔社区警察、代际创伤和心理健康的持续影响至关重要。
研究人员使用女权主义向前的扎根理论方法，从被确认为最后一代曾经被奴役的非裔美国人的女性（=19 人）的国会图书馆采访中，理解以下问题：（a）非裔美国人和白人权威人物之间的历史关系是什么？（b）与非裔美国人和白人权威人物之间的互动相关的记忆是什么？（c）这些互动过程是如何产生的？（d）这些记忆是如何传递的？
对奴役者和非裔美国人在家附近（即种植园）的童年记忆和互动的分析产生了六个主题：（a）与奴役者的纠缠，（b）奴役者是好人，（c）奴役者的照顾，（d）奴役者的控制，（e）警察人物的暴力控制，（f）服从命令。理论编码导致了在家附近对非裔美国人进行历史警察管制中权力功能的完整模型的形成。
所揭示的主题突出了奴役儿童生活环境的潜在创伤性暴力和控制，以及维持白人权力的系统。历史分析和结果证实了警察暴力在 400 多年来试图控制和伤害非裔美国人的方式，并强调了警察暴力在代际创伤的延续和白人权力的维持中所扮演的角色。（PsycInfo 数据库记录（c）2024 APA，保留所有权利）。
