Transgenerational aspects of former Swiss child laborers: do second generations suffer from their parents’ adverse early-life experiences?

BACKGROUND: Recent research suggests that childhood adversity exerts a lasting impact not only on the affected individuals but also on their offspring. Little is known about the role of parental rearing behavior in the transgenerational conveyance of parental childhood adversity and filial psychological health. OBJECTIVE: Hence, it was the aim of the current study to investigate the relationship between parental rearing behavior of former Swiss indentured child laborers (“Verdingkinder”) and psychological health of their adult offspring. METHODS: We applied a two-generation control-group design with two parental samples (n=16, former “Verdingkinder,” M(age)=76.13, SD=6.81 and n=19, parental controls, M(age)=72.63, SD=5.96) and their offspring (n=21, former “Verdingkinder” offspring, M(age)=52.91, SD=5.90, and n=29 offspring controls, M(age)=44.55, SD=7.71). Parental rearing behavior, childhood trauma, and psychological health were assessed with questionnaires. Data were analyzed using Bayesian analyses, where Bayes factors (BF) of 3 or higher were considered as substantial evidence for the tested hypotheses. RESULTS: We found that “Verdingkinder” offspring reported more physical abuse (BF(10)=5.197) and higher total childhood trauma exposure (BF(10)=2.476). They described both their fathers (BF(10)=14.246) and mothers (BF(10)=24.153) as less emotional and their mothers as more punitive (BF(10)=18.725). An increased sense of reflection, for instance, one's ability to take different perspectives, was found in the offspring controls (BF(10)=5.245). Furthermore, exploratory analyses revealed that lower perceived familial emotionality was associated with higher psychopathology (all BF(10)=10.471) and higher pessimism (all BF(10)=5.396). DISCUSSION: Our data provide cross-sectional evidence of a meaningful transgenerational relationship between parental childhood adversity, dysfunctional rearing behavior, and psychological health of offspring. Prospective studies are needed to investigate these findings in a longitudinal setting. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ARTICLE: The study showed elevated levels of aversive childhood events in the adult offspring of former indentured childhood laborers. The offspring of former indentured childhood laborers did not exhibit increased general psychopathology (as assessed by the Symptom-Checklist: SCL). However, the recalled childhood rearing behavior was more problematic (higher punishment, less emotional warmth) in the offspring of former indentured childhood laborers as compared to a 2nd generation control group. Second generation group differences for world view variables (optimism, pessimism) were not substantial or in favor of the control participants (reflection facet of sense of coherence-revised).