Inter-Generational trauma, Pre-Natal Exposure to violence and accelerated epigenetic aging

Val's Take/Conjecture

• The modern malaise of Isolation, Alienation and Disconnection is giving way to a much more profound Integration and connection of life and reality.
• It is not necessarily any more comforting at the present moment --- but it is pointing to where our energies should be invested.
• The Enlightenment of the 18th Century and the American Founding Fathers believed that the pursuit of happiness was the pursuit of LEARNING.

Inter-Generational Trauma

Inter-Generational Trauma: Confirming the Wisdom of indigenous People to consider our Impact on the People for 7 Generations

Epigenetic signatures of intergenerational exposure to violence in three generations of Syrian refugees  (2025)

*US and Jordan

​Abstract

Maternal trauma influences infant and adult health outcomes and may impact future generations through epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation (DNAm).

Based on an epigenome-wide association study (EWAS), we identified differentially methylated regions (DMPs): 14 were associated with germline and 21 with direct exposure to violence.  .  .  .

Most DMPs showed the same directionality in DNAm change across germline, prenatal, and direct exposures, suggesting a common epigenetic response to violence.

Additionally, we identified epigenetic age acceleration in association with prenatal exposure to violence in children, highlighting the critical period of in utero development.

This is the first report of an intergenerational epigenetic signature of violence, which has important implications for understanding the inheritance of trauma.