Parent-child transmission of trauma in a longitudinal cohort: impact on aging-related mental and physical health well-being

About This Grant

We propose to conduct a 4th wave of data collection on our longitudinal cohort of children of 9/11 directly-exposed parents (WTC evacuees, Ground Zero Area residents and First Responders). While the attack on 9/11 was a tragedy almost beyond our capacity to absorb, the long-term, ongoing mental and physical effects on those present -- and their families – remain, at least for many, unabated. Soon after 9/11, our team recruited what became a longitudinal cohort study of children (currently ages 23-42) and their parents (currently ages 42-88) who had experienced direct exposure to the World Trade Center (WTC) attack, along with community controls. Indirectly exposed children came to be known as those experiencing “take-home” exposure, being not directly exposed themselves. Having learned through follow-up assessments of the critical role disaster-experienced family members have on their children’s well-being, and the child’s reciprocal role on the exposed adults’ well-being, we will focus this fourth wave on understanding the role of aging on the intergenerational impact of disaster and adverse experiences and the associated outcomes of interest, including psychopathology, physical and cognitive well-being, comorbidities, and mitochondrial copy number as an adversity-related biomarker of oxidative stress. As the offspring cohort reaches mid-life and the parents, older adulthood, this study, utilizing four waves of data, is expected to yield important insights into the long-term impact of adverse experiences, their intergenerational impact, and influence on aging processes. The 9/11-exposed parents and their indirectly exposed children have been comprehensively assessed through in-home interviews over three waves of data collection and the study has amassed a wealth of data on long-term psychiatric-physical sequalae to mass disaster exposure. These data have proven significant, not only in understanding the indirectly exposed child, but also the consequences to the exposed parent. Data from this longitudinal cohort strongly indicate the need to assess both individuals (parent and child) from a family perspective. We appreciate that this is a timely issue, as parents age and disproportionately become ill and may experience premature mortality. We propose, therefore, to focus on the family unit for the purpose of understanding the complex, long-term impact that parental direct exposure has on the health and well-being of their children and on the directly exposed parents themselves. This Family Aging Study will allow the fourth wave of data collection to examine trajectories of aging-related medical and mental well-being including cognition, comorbidities, and mitochondrial copy number, as well as examination of intergenerational effects. This comprehensive approach will improve understanding of the complex interactions of emotional and toxic 9/11 exposure that has impacted both the mental and physical realms and contributed to complex comorbidities as each group ages. It is anticipated that this Family Aging Study will continue as a longitudinal investigation of adverse experiences, and their intergenerational impact on aging processes.