The role of maternal postmigration living difficulties in intergenerational trauma transmission among asylum-seeker mother-child dyads: Exploring complex posttraumatic stress disorder as a mechanism.

OBJECTIVE

Among forcibly displaced people, maternal trauma and stress have been implicated in poor child socioemotional outcomes via intergenerational trauma transmission. This study explored the role of maternal postmigration living difficulties (PMLD) in the pathway linking maternal trauma, trauma-related psychopathology, and child socioemotional outcomes among mother-child dyads seeking asylum in a high-risk urban setting.

METHOD

Participants were East African (Eritrean) mothers ( = 127) of preschool-aged children seeking asylum in Israel. Using moderated mediation analysis, we tested whether and how PMLD may moderate the mediating role of current maternal posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex posttraumatic stress disorder disturbances in self-organization (DSO) symptoms between past maternal trauma exposure and current postdisplacement child internalizing and externalizing difficulties. Children's direct exposure to adverse life experiences was controlled for.

RESULTS

Maternal PTSD symptoms mediated the association between past maternal trauma exposure and child internalizing difficulties, but not externalizing difficulties, across all levels of current maternal PMLD. However, maternal DSO symptoms mediated internalizing and externalizing child outcomes, but only among mothers reporting high levels of current PMLD.

CONCLUSION

This study provides novel evidence that PMLD may amplify the toxicity of past maternal trauma exposure for poor child socioemotional outcomes via DSO symptoms. The intergenerational transmission pathway via the narrower fear-based PTSD, however, is independent of the degree of maternal PMLD. Findings suggest that policies designed to buffer intergenerational trauma transmission among forcibly displaced people may need to consider the toxicity of PMLD as well as enable mothers to heal from PTSD. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).