Cyclical Triggers: Parenting Experiences in Disrupting Intergenerational Trauma

This session is not available for CE credits.

Abstract
The impact of psychological trauma has the potential to be far-reaching. Extant literature suggests that trauma disorders may be socially transmitted across multiple familial generations, with the parent-child relationship a core risk or protective factor (Isobel et al., 2018; Iyengar et al., 2014). Symptoms of Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (C-PTSD) including dissociation, emotional dysregulation, and the development of disorganized attachment patterns (Curtois & Ford, 2014) have been shown to affect parenting and the parent-child attachment relationship negatively (i.e. Berthelot et al., 2015; Fishbane, 2019). However, qualitative literature that speaks to the lived experiences of parenting with C-PTSD is sparse, and very little is known about parents' experiences consciously intervening in intergenerational trauma transmission.

This study explores the perceptions and experiences of two mothers with histories of complex trauma who are parenting with the intention of interrupting cycles of intergenerational trauma transmission. Analytic collaborative autoethnography (CAE) and narrative inquiry form the methodological foundation of this study. CAE is an emerging, analytical, self-reflexive, and collaborative approach to social inquiry (Chang et al., 2016). Grounded in ethnographic methodology, including data collection; analysis; and interpretation methods, CAE is a qualitative research method wherein a community of researchers collect autobiographical data as a complete member of an identified sociocultural group (Chang et al., 2016). The data is then analysed and interpreted collectively, with an emphasis on illuminating broader sociocultural interpretations. In this study, data was collected over a 9-month period in the form of transcribed collaborative dialogues, written narrative exchanges, and self-reflective journal entries. While we continue to analyse data in this study, an inductive thematic analysis has identified three emerging themes, discussed further below.

Our first finding is that Cyclical response patterns drive and impede intentional parenting to disrupt the social transmission of intergenerational trauma. According to our data, fear motivates the desire to interrupt generational parenting patterns, while symptoms of PTSD impede intentional parenting efforts. These challenges in parenting activate feelings of shame, critical self-responding, and subsequently fear, thus prompting the cycle to repeat. Second, embedded in and intersecting with this cyclical response pattern is a theme of internal conflict regarding parenting intent vs. parenting impact. For both researchers, self-imposed parenting expectations reflect high standards of parenting behaviour that may be considered unrealistic or unachievable. Moreover, we determine that experiences of hypo and hyperarousal states influence parenting behaviour, resulting in parenting actions that misalign with self-imposed parenting expectations. The internal conflict of this misalignment is further explored in our analysis. Our third finding is that parenting tasks (such as caretaking, discipline, or household duties) tend to represent significant triggers to states of hypo or hyperarousal. In brief, the inherent tasks and roles involved in parenting consistently activate fight, flight, and freeze responses for the researchers.

The findings of this study provide valuable insights into the experiences of parents who are interrupting cycles of intergenerational trauma. We emphasize implications for clinicians and researchers, as well as for parents with lived experiences of trauma. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.