The Intergenerational Effect of Grandmothers’ Trauma on Offspring’s Psychological Distress in Cambodian Skipped-Generation Households

While the intergenerational effects of Khmer Rouge trauma, particularly in parenting style, have been extensively studied, research on its longer term impacts into the third generation remains limited. Adopting quantitative research methods, this study delved into the intergenerational trauma transmission from grandmothers to their adult daughters, and subsequently to their grandchildren in their care among migrant skipped-generation households in Cambodia. The study included 128 grandmothers, 41 daughters, and 45 grandchildren. The paired subsamples comprised of 41 grandmother–daughter pairs and 39 grandmother–grandchild pairs. Survey interviews were administered to collect data on the trauma experiences and symptoms, psychological distress, and parenting style using standardized instruments. The data were analyzed using mediation analysis, linear regression models, and Pearson correlation. Findings showed the mediating role of role-reversing parenting in the relationship between the grandmothers’ trauma symptoms and their daughters’ depression; however, such support was not evident in the third generation, suggesting the indirect effect of trauma transmission was more pronounced in the second generation compared to the third. Nevertheless, the direct effect of associations between grandmothers’ trauma symptoms and grandchildren’s depression was significant. These findings on secondary traumatization linked to grandmothers’ Khmer Rouge trauma in the second and skipped-generational effects provide a broader societal implication for the intergenerational trauma among Cambodian families.