ABSTRACT

The effects that post-traumatic stress disorder have on an individual is well researched and documented, yet the relationship between symptoms of trauma and heritability are not as understood and researched. The present study hopes to explore if there is a relationship between gender, male or female, and the passing of trauma-like symptoms to future children. Participants were given a link to access a survey to gain general demographic information, if and which parent endured trauma pre-conception, if the participant themselves endured trauma, followed by the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A). The HAM-A is a scale used to determine the presence and severity of anxiety symptoms that participants were asked to complete while thinking back to ages 2 through 16 years old. Analysis demonstrated a significant mean difference in participants with a mother who endured trauma compared to those with a father who endured trauma. This mean difference indicates that participants whose mother endured trauma experience more symptoms of anxiety, or more severe symptoms of anxiety, compared to participants whose father endured trauma. Further analysis demonstrated that participants that selected ‘neither/both’ to the question referring to the gender of parent that endured trauma had a higher mean average on the HAM-A, than participants whose father endured trauma, though the difference was not statistically significant. Scores on the HAM-A indicated that paternal trauma may have a protective effect, as the anxiety score of this group was the lowest of all groups. Other analysis demonstrated a significant correlation between age and the HAM-A as the present study shows that older participants tend to have less anxiety than younger participants. The results of this study provide a slightly better understanding of how deeply trauma effects humans and can provide awareness on the seriousness and severity of intergenerational trauma.