Social work theory · Volume B: Relational & Systemic

Intergenerational and transgenerational approaches

Intergenerational and transgenerational approaches explain how patterns of relating, expectations, resources and unresolved experiences pass between generations in families and communities.

1. What it is

Intergenerational and transgenerational approaches explain how patterns of relating, expectations, resources and unresolved experiences pass between generations in families and communities. They hold that present difficulties often make sense only when placed within a family history of several generations (Bowen, 1978; McGoldrick et al., 2020). The term intergenerational usually refers to transmission between adjacent generations, such as parent to child, and to relationships between living generations. Transgenerational refers to transmission across several generations, often of experiences that were never openly spoken about (Abraham & Torok, 1994). These approaches draw on family systems theory (see Family systems theory), attachment theory (see Psychodynamic and psychoanalytic theories) and trauma research, and they are central to understanding the continuing effects of colonisation in Australia.

Family patterns. Family patterns are repeated ways of functioning that appear across generations. Examples include styles of parenting, ways of handling conflict, gender roles, patterns of illness, addiction, migration or separation, and rules about what can be spoken about. Bowen’s (1978) concept of the multigenerational transmission process proposes that small differences in levels of differentiation are passed from parents to children and accumulate across generations. Research on parenting also shows moderate continuity in attachment and parenting styles between generations, though transmission is far from inevitable (van IJzendoorn, 1992).

Transmission of experience. Experiences can be transmitted through several pathways: direct modelling and parenting practices; family stories, silences and secrets; attachment relationships; material conditions such as poverty or loss of land; and possibly biological processes. Fraiberg et al. (1975) used the image of “ghosts in the nursery” to describe how parents’ unresolved childhood experiences can intrude on their relationship with their own infants. Abraham and Torok (1994) described how unspoken family secrets can be carried, unknowingly, by later generations.

Intergenerational relationships. Intergenerational relationships are the ties between members of different living generations, such as grandparents, parents and grandchildren. Bengtson and Roberts (1991) proposed a model of intergenerational solidarity covering contact, emotional closeness, agreement, mutual help, norms of obligation and family structure. With longer life expectancy, these relationships have become more important sources of care and support (Bengtson, 2001).

Contextual therapy (Ivan Boszormenyi-Nagy). Boszormenyi-Nagy’s contextual therapy adds an ethical dimension to family systems theory. He argued that families are bound by “invisible loyalties” and by a ledger of give and take across generations (Boszormenyi-Nagy & Spark, 1973). When children are unable to repay what they owe, or when they receive unfair treatment, they may be caught in split loyalties or display “destructive entitlement” towards others. Therapy aims to restore relational fairness and trustworthiness through multidirected partiality, in which the worker acknowledges the perspective and contribution of each family member (Boszormenyi-Nagy & Krasner, 1986).

Genograms. A genogram is a diagram of a family across at least three generations, recording members, relationships and significant events such as births, deaths, illnesses, migrations and separations. Developed from Bowen’s work and standardised by McGoldrick et al. (2020), genograms help workers and families identify repeated patterns, losses and sources of strength. Cultural genograms add information about heritage, migration and identity.

Intergenerational trauma. Intergenerational (or historical) trauma refers to the cumulative emotional and psychological harm carried across generations following collective trauma such as genocide, war, forced displacement and colonisation (Brave Heart & DeBruyn, 1998; Danieli, 1998). Research with children of Holocaust survivors established the concept, and research on possible epigenetic pathways is continuing but remains preliminary (Yehuda & Lehrner, 2018). Trauma is transmitted through disrupted parenting and attachment, community breakdown, loss of culture, poverty and ongoing discrimination as well as through individual memory.

The Stolen Generations context. In Australia, government policies forcibly removed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. The Bringing Them Home report documented the profound harm this caused, which continues across generations (Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission [HREOC], 1997). Removed children were often denied their culture, language and family connections and many experienced abuse. Atkinson (2002) traced “trauma trails” through Aboriginal families and communities, showing how layers of colonial violence produce transgenerational effects. Menzies (2019) argues that social workers must understand this collective, historical and intergenerational trauma, including social work’s own role in child removal.

2. Historical development

Intergenerational approaches grew out of family systems theory and psychoanalysis. Bowen’s research showed that emotional patterns could be traced across generations, and Boszormenyi-Nagy, trained as a psychoanalyst, brought ethical ideas of loyalty and justice into family therapy (Boszormenyi-Nagy & Spark, 1973). At the same time, infant mental health work (Fraiberg et al., 1975) and attachment research examined how parents’ early experiences shape their caregiving. These lines of work established intergenerational thinking as a distinct approach concerned with transmission over time.

Social work engaged with intergenerational trauma particularly through work with Holocaust survivors, refugees and Indigenous peoples. In Australia, the Bringing Them Home report (HREOC, 1997) made the intergenerational effects of child removal a central issue for social work. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander scholars have since led the development of trauma-informed and healing-focused approaches (Atkinson, 2002; Dudgeon et al., 2014).

3. Practical guidance

Intergenerational approaches help workers place present difficulties within family and collective histories.

• Complete a genogram with the family. Map at least three generations and ask about losses, migrations, separations and strengths. Families often see patterns for the first time when they appear on paper (McGoldrick et al., 2020).
• Ask about family history with care. Questions about parents’ own childhoods can open painful material. Pace the work, explain why history matters and respect what people choose not to share.
• Recognise collective trauma. Understand that the effects of the Stolen Generations, war or forced migration may appear in parenting, health, substance use and mistrust of services. Avoid framing these as individual or family deficits.
• Acknowledge social work’s history. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families may associate social workers with child removal. Build trust, work with Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations and follow the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Child Placement Principle.
• Support healing and connection. Connection to culture, Country, language and kin is a protective factor. Support reunification services such as Link-Up and culturally led healing programs (Dudgeon et al., 2014).
• Interrupt patterns and build on strengths. Use contextual ideas to acknowledge what each generation has given and suffered, and identify resilience that has also been passed down.

4. Critical evaluation

Strengths. Intergenerational approaches add depth and time to assessment, helping workers and families understand why patterns recur. Genograms are practical and engaging tools (McGoldrick et al., 2020). The concept of intergenerational trauma has given voice to the experiences of colonised and displaced peoples and has shaped policy, including responses to the Stolen Generations (HREOC, 1997; Atkinson, 2002).

Limitations. A focus on transmission can imply that outcomes are determined, overlooking the many people who break patterns, and can become a form of family or community blame. The concept of intergenerational trauma may locate harm in the past and in psychology, diverting attention from ongoing structural racism and dispossession (Menzies, 2019). Epigenetic claims are often overstated relative to the evidence (Yehuda & Lehrner, 2018). Genograms reflect Western nuclear family assumptions and may not capture Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kinship systems.

Overall importance. Intergenerational and transgenerational approaches are essential for understanding families across time and for culturally safe practice in Australia. Used alongside structural analysis and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led approaches to healing, they help social workers recognise both inherited harm and inherited strength.

5. References

• Abraham, N., & Torok, M. (1994). The shell and the kernel: Renewals of psychoanalysis (Vol. 1; N. T. Rand, Ed. & Trans.). University of Chicago Press.
• Atkinson, J. (2002). Trauma trails, recreating song lines: The transgenerational effects of trauma in Indigenous Australia. Spinifex Press.
• Bengtson, V. L. (2001). Beyond the nuclear family: The increasing importance of multigenerational bonds. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63(1), 1–16.
• Bengtson, V. L., & Roberts, R. E. L. (1991). Intergenerational solidarity in aging families: An example of formal theory construction. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 53(4), 856–870.
• Boszormenyi-Nagy, I., & Krasner, B. R. (1986). Between give and take: A clinical guide to contextual therapy. Brunner/Mazel.
• Boszormenyi-Nagy, I., & Spark, G. M. (1973). Invisible loyalties: Reciprocity in intergenerational family therapy. Harper & Row.
• Bowen, M. (1978). Family therapy in clinical practice. Jason Aronson.
• Brave Heart, M. Y. H., & DeBruyn, L. M. (1998). The American Indian holocaust: Healing historical unresolved grief. American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research, 8(2), 56–78.
• Danieli, Y. (Ed.). (1998). International handbook of multigenerational legacies of trauma. Plenum Press.
• Dudgeon, P., Milroy, H., & Walker, R. (Eds.). (2014). Working together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and wellbeing principles and practice (2nd ed.). Commonwealth of Australia.
• Fraiberg, S., Adelson, E., & Shapiro, V. (1975). Ghosts in the nursery: A psychoanalytic approach to the problems of impaired infant-mother relationships. Journal of the American Academy of Child Psychiatry, 14(3), 387–421.
• Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. (1997). Bringing them home: Report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from Their Families.
• McGoldrick, M., Gerson, R., & Petry, S. (2020). Genograms: Assessment and treatment (4th ed.). W. W. Norton.
• Menzies, K. (2019). Understanding the Australian Aboriginal experience of collective, historical and intergenerational trauma. International Social Work, 62(6), 1522–1534. https://doi.org/10.1177/0020872819870585
• van IJzendoorn, M. H. (1992). Intergenerational transmission of parenting: A review of studies in nonclinical populations. Developmental Review, 12(1), 76–99.
• Yehuda, R., & Lehrner, A. (2018). Intergenerational transmission of trauma effects: Putative role of epigenetic mechanisms. World Psychiatry, 17(3), 243–257.