Silence, Stigma, Survival: Family Disapproval and Intergenerational Trauma Transmission in the Khmer Rouge

Between 1975 and 1979, Cambodia fell to a communist regime that snowballed into the Khmer Rouge (KR) genocide, in which approximately 1.87 million citizens were systematically murdered. The lingering aftereffects of the autogenocide remain, persisting in interpersonal communication and intergenerational trauma transmission (ITT). However, existing literature focuses largely on ITT and offspring-perceived family disapproval (FD) presence in KR as distinct spheres. The present study examines the relationship between vulnerability and resilience mechanisms of FD and ITT among descendants of KR survivors. Through a two-step exploratory sequential mixed-method research design, a qualitative hybrid content analysis first confirmed the presence of all mechanisms; afterwards, a Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient analyzed the association between the quantified variables. Yet, while results indicated a statistically significant positive correlation between ITT Resilience and FD Resilience variables (ρ = 0.707, p < 0.05), contrastingly, FD vulnerability and ITT vulnerability did not yield a significant relationship (ρ = -0.022, p > 0.05). Consequently, these results underscore that positive parent-offspring interactions not only mitigate traumatic responses but can also facilitate reconciliation processes in post-genocidal contexts. Conversely, it is also possible that a broader range of influences may exacerbate ITT vulnerability mechanisms rather than FD alone, whereby family resilience mechanisms might act as protective factors that cushion ITT vulnerability. Because families might concurrently demonstrate vulnerability and resilience, institutions might consider these concepts as distinct constructs. Future research might consider replicating this study with paired parent-offspring interviews.