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International Handbook of Multigenerational Legacies of Trauma pp 225–242Cite as

Warrior Fathers and Warrior Sons

Intergenerational Aspects of Trauma

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Part of the book series: The Plenum Series on Stress and Coping ((SSSO))

Abstract

This chapter considers whether Vietnam veterans whose fathers served in combat have an increased risk of posttraumatic stress disorder and other postwar adjustment problems when compared with other Vietnam veterans. Samples are Vietnam veterans who participated in the National Vietnam Veterans Readjustment Study (NVVRS) and veterans seeking treatment for PTSD from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In the total NVVRS sample there were no differences between these two groups. However, within the subgroup of veterans who met criteria for PTSD,those whose fathers had been exposed to combat had more severe problems on several measures. In the VA sample, too, veterans whose fathers served in combat scored higher in PTSD symptoms, suicidality, guilt, and loss of religious faith. We conclude that intergenerational effects of trauma emerge when the second generation itself has PTSD, and show that these transgenerational effects are related to intergenerational processes during the homecoming period rather than to differences in premilitary experience.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterans Affairs, Northeast Program Evaluation Center, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, West Haven, Connecticut, 06516, USA

    Robert Rosenheck & Alan Fontana

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  1. Robert Rosenheck
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  2. Alan Fontana
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Group Project for Holocaust Survivors and Their Children, New York, New York, USA

    Yael Danieli

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© 1998 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Rosenheck, R., Fontana, A. (1998). Warrior Fathers and Warrior Sons. In: Danieli, Y. (eds) International Handbook of Multigenerational Legacies of Trauma. The Plenum Series on Stress and Coping. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-5567-1_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-5567-1_15

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-3287-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-5567-1

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