Transgenerational transmission of trauma and transfer of psychopathology across three generations of immigrant-origin women

The dissoanalytic theory, developed by Öztürk, based on modern psychotraumatology principles for the ideal of a development-oriented and integrated society consisting of functional, empathetic and innovative individuals, states that forced migrations, in particular, can trigger traumatic and dissociative dynamics that transgenerationally spread at individual and collective dimensions. It is seen that negative child-rearing styles and therefore intra-family dynamics play a dominant role in the process of creating dysfunctional successive generations through the transgenerational transmission of trauma and psychopathology of these psychosocial dynamics. The main purpose of this thesis, structured within the framework of modern psychotraumatology paradigms, Öztürk's dissoanalytic theory and psychoanalytic theory, is to evaluate the relationship between childhood traumas and dissociation levels in the transgenerational transition and transmission dimension in three consecutive generations of female adults with immigrant origin, adopting both objective and projective measurement tools. The experimental group of our study includes a total of 108 female, immigrant-origin adults from three consecutive generations (36 families), where the first generation migrated themselves, and the control group includes a total of 108 female adults from three consecutive generations (36 families) without a history of immigration in their families; the sample of our research, thus, consists of 216 adult women. The data of our research were collected using the Demographic Information and Interview Form created by the researcher and the advisor, the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Dissociative Experiences Scale, the Parenting Styles Questionnaire, the Childhood Abuse and Neglect Questionnaire, and the projective tests, namely the Rorschach Test and the Thematic Apperception Test. The findings obtained from the projective tests were interpreted with the content analysis method and coding system of the French School. Research findings show that the mean total score of childhood trauma is 36.49 in the immigrant origin group, while it is 28.71 in the control group with no family history of immigration, and that women with immigrant origin report statistically more childhood trauma. Similarly, the total mean score of dissociative experiences was found to be 27.02 in the experimental group and 14.94 in the control group, and it was observed that women with immigrant origin reported statistically higher levels of dissociative experiences. It was found that the mean childhood trauma and dissociative experiences total scores were respectively 38.11 and 28.50 in the first generation of the experimental group, 35.75 and 26.36 in the second generation, and 35.61 and 26.22 in the third generation, and there was no statistically significant difference between these total scores on a transgenerational level. One of the main results of our research shows that the families of women who were exposed to forced migration trauma in their childhood report similar rates of childhood trauma and dissociative experiences across two consecutive generations. In order to examine the effects of trauma and dissociation experiences at the unconscious level, the Traumatic Content Index in the Rorschach Test and the number of responses with traumatic and dissociative content in the Thematic Apperception Test were compared. Findings from the projective tests show that the mean traumatic content rates (19.70) and the numbers of traumatic and dissociative content responses in the Thematic Apperception Test (3.66 and 1.26, respectively) of immigrant-origin women are statistically higher than those of the control group. Moreover, there is no statistical difference between traumatic content rates and the number of trauma and dissociation responses from the first generation to the second generation, and from the second generation to the third generation. This research is an original scientific study in terms of evaluating the trauma of forced immigration in three consecutive generations of female adults, in comparison with the other three consecutive generations of female adults without immigration experience, from a dissoanalytic perspective, with both objective and projective methods. In addition, it is very significant in terms of contributing to the psychoanalytic literature that adopts the projective method in terms of testing the Traumatic Content Index as a standardized indicator of psychological trauma in the Rorschach Test and reporting its preliminary findings. Dissoanalytic theory should be utilized as an effective, rapid and comprehensive academic and clinical stance on individual and social dimensions in order to ensure the neutralization of childhood traumas as the main carrier elements of transgenerational transmission of trauma and psychopathology observed through oppression and control-oriented, anachronistic, negative child-rearing styles. Keywords: Immigration; trauma; dissociation; transgenerational transmission of trauma; transgenerational transmission of psychopathology; family psychology; family psychopathology; child-rearing styles; Rorschach Test; Thematic Apperception Test