Date of Award

Fall 9-5-2025

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Matthew Miller

Abstract

Parental trauma can have a profound effect on children. The process of passing along traumatic experiences, known as the intergenerational transmission of trauma (IGT) and the process of passing along adaptations to these adverse circumstances, known as the intergenerational transmission of resilience (IGR), have been explored in populations such as survivors of the Holocaust and war refugees (Danieli et al., 2017; Kellermann, 2001; Sangalang & Vang, 2017). This study sought to extend findings to Chinese American immigrant families, many of whom experienced trauma in the form of war, sociopolitical violence, and poverty in 20th-century China. Despite the presence of these traumatic circumstances, systemic erasure of Chinese American history and proliferation of the model minority myth have relegated these experiences outside of public consciousness, including that of second-generation Chinese Americans and the mental health professionals who work with them. As a result, Chinese Americans are overpathologized, conceptualized apart from cultural and historical factors, and obstructed from family strengths that can play a role in improving their mental health. This study amplified erased and unspoken experiences of Chinese Americans and their elders by using a phenomenological approach to collect 16 qualitative interviews, which were analyzed using narrative and thematic analyses. The study primarily sought to answer: what are the mechanisms by which trauma and resilience are passed on to the child generation? First, findings argued for the reconceptualization of IGT and IGR into a novel construct: intergenerational survival strategies. Second, findings presented ten mechanisms of the survival strategies transmission. Individual-level clinical implications, as well as institutional implications are discussed.

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