Psychological Impact of the Stolen Generation: A Comprehensive Report

This report delves into the Stolen Generation, focusing on the Australian government's historical practice of separating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families between 1905 and the 1970s. It explores the resulting intergenerational trauma, including depression, addiction, anxiety, and PTSD. The report highlights the psychological and health impacts on the children, such as helplessness, fear, flashbacks, and hyperarousal. Furthermore, it examines the link between intergenerational trauma and family violence, concluding that children removed from their families are vulnerable to psychological disorders and exhibit increased abusive and violent behavior. The report references key academic sources to support its findings.

Bringing Them Home

Introduction
• Bringing Them Home is an Australian report that was published to
• investigate the matter of separated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
children from their Families.
• Between 1905 and 1970s, the federal government separated a large
number of children from their families (Aguiar & Halseth, 2015).
• The total number of children was between 20 thousand and 100
thousand (Aguiar & Halseth, 2015).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
Children
• These children were also known as the Stolen Generation.
• Later reports revealed that the children faced sexual abuse and
physical abuse during the foster care.
• This act of removing children is viewed as abusive, depersonalizing,
and cultural homicide.
• The children had to grow up without a family which was a deep blow
to their feelings and psychological well-being.

Intergenerational Trauma
and Epigenetics
• Usually, generations of Aboriginal people with such history show
individual symptoms that include:
• Depression and grief
• Addictions and drug abuse
• Anxiety and self-destructive behaviors.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is also a psychological problem that
can arise due to forcible removing of children from their children
(Lehrner & Yehuda, 2018).

Health Impacts on Children
• Children who have been removed forcibly from their families show the
following PTSD symptoms:
• Helplessness,
• Fear,
• And horror.
• Usually, children can re-experience the horrors of events later, in the form of:
• Flashbacks
• Reminders of events
• Distressing images.
• Hyperarousal is also a common occurring psychological condition in such
children.

Health Impacts on Children
• Hyperarousal in such children is characterized by some special
symptoms such as:
• Impaired concentration,
• Insomnia and excessive sleeping,
• Increased startle reactions,
• Hypervigilance.
• Intergenerational trauma has also been found to be associated with
high rates of family violence and domestic abuse.
• Trauma re-enactment is another major problem that is an addictive
behavior to cope with the trauma.

Conclusion
• Children who are removed from their families at young age become
vulnerable to
• psychological disorders
• and intergenerational traumatic issues.
• Some common problems that have been observed in children with
such past are:
• Increased abusive and violent behavior, leading to family violence and
domestic abuse.
• Lack of sleep and flashing images of distressful moments.

References
Aguiar, W., & Halseth, R. (2015). Aboriginal Peoples and
HistoricTrauma: The Processes of Intergenerational Transmission. Prince
George, BC, Canada: National Collaborating Center for Aboriginal Health
(NCCAH). Retrieved from
http://www.nccah-ccnsa.ca/Publications/Lists/Publications/Attachments/
142/2015-04-28-AguiarHalseth-RPT-IntergenTraumaHistory-EN-Web.pdf
Lehrner, A., & Yehuda, R. (2018). Cultural Trauma and Epigenetic
Inheritance. Development and Psychopathology, 1-15. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327942788_Cultural_trauma
_and_epigenetic_inheritance