Wellbeing and national identity in three generations of Czech and Slovak Holocaust survivors
Subjective wellbeing (SWB) is an important factor of global adjustment. Intergenerational satisfaction in seriously traumatized people has not been studied so far in homogenous populations of Central and Eastern Europe. This study focuses on the SWB in three generations of survivors living in the Cz...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-09-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2022.919217/full |
| _version_ | 1798004166383108096 |
|---|---|
| author | Marek Preiss Marek Preiss Marek Preiss Monika Fňašková Markéta Nečasová Radek Heissler Petr Bob Alice Prokopová Dita Šamánková Edel Sanders Ivan Rektor |
| author_facet | Marek Preiss Marek Preiss Marek Preiss Monika Fňašková Markéta Nečasová Radek Heissler Petr Bob Alice Prokopová Dita Šamánková Edel Sanders Ivan Rektor |
| author_sort | Marek Preiss |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Subjective wellbeing (SWB) is an important factor of global adjustment. Intergenerational satisfaction in seriously traumatized people has not been studied so far in homogenous populations of Central and Eastern Europe. This study focuses on the SWB in three generations of survivors living in the Czech Republic and Slovakia after World War II (WWII). The focal groups were Holocaust survivors (ages 71–95, n = 47), Holocaust survivors’ children (ages 30–73, n = 86), and their grandchildren (ages 15–48, n = 88), and they were compared to aged-matched groups without Holocaust history. The first and second generation of Holocaust survivors scored significantly lower than the comparison groups in wellbeing, as measured using the Schwartz Outcome Scale-10 (SOS-10). There was no significant difference in life satisfaction in any of the three generations. Within the focal group, identification as Jewish or as also Jewish was comparable in all three generations of Holocaust survivors (74% in the first, 79% in the second, and 66% in the third generation). Holocaust survivors declaring Jewish identity reported lower SWB compared to survivors declaring other than Jewish identity. The focal group generated more national identities than comparisons. The outcomes are discussed in the context of the history of Central and Eastern Europe. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T12:19:20Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-790683636fa34211886c3fdbe0f578be |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-5153 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T12:19:20Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj.art-790683636fa34211886c3fdbe0f578be2022-12-22T04:24:07ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience1662-51532022-09-011610.3389/fnbeh.2022.919217919217Wellbeing and national identity in three generations of Czech and Slovak Holocaust survivorsMarek Preiss0Marek Preiss1Marek Preiss2Monika Fňašková3Markéta Nečasová4Radek Heissler5Petr Bob6Alice Prokopová7Dita Šamánková8Edel Sanders9Ivan Rektor10National Institute of Mental Health (Czechia), Prague, CzechiaCentral European Institute of Technology (CEITEC), Brno, CzechiaDepartment of Psychology, University of New York in Prague, Prague, CzechiaCentral European Institute of Technology (CEITEC), Brno, CzechiaCentral European Institute of Technology (CEITEC), Brno, CzechiaNational Institute of Mental Health (Czechia), Prague, CzechiaCentral European Institute of Technology (CEITEC), Brno, CzechiaCentral European Institute of Technology (CEITEC), Brno, CzechiaNational Institute of Mental Health (Czechia), Prague, CzechiaDepartment of Psychology, University of New York in Prague, Prague, CzechiaCentral European Institute of Technology (CEITEC), Brno, CzechiaSubjective wellbeing (SWB) is an important factor of global adjustment. Intergenerational satisfaction in seriously traumatized people has not been studied so far in homogenous populations of Central and Eastern Europe. This study focuses on the SWB in three generations of survivors living in the Czech Republic and Slovakia after World War II (WWII). The focal groups were Holocaust survivors (ages 71–95, n = 47), Holocaust survivors’ children (ages 30–73, n = 86), and their grandchildren (ages 15–48, n = 88), and they were compared to aged-matched groups without Holocaust history. The first and second generation of Holocaust survivors scored significantly lower than the comparison groups in wellbeing, as measured using the Schwartz Outcome Scale-10 (SOS-10). There was no significant difference in life satisfaction in any of the three generations. Within the focal group, identification as Jewish or as also Jewish was comparable in all three generations of Holocaust survivors (74% in the first, 79% in the second, and 66% in the third generation). Holocaust survivors declaring Jewish identity reported lower SWB compared to survivors declaring other than Jewish identity. The focal group generated more national identities than comparisons. The outcomes are discussed in the context of the history of Central and Eastern Europe.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2022.919217/fulltraumaPTSDtransgenerationalCzechHolocaust |
| spellingShingle | Marek Preiss Marek Preiss Marek Preiss Monika Fňašková Markéta Nečasová Radek Heissler Petr Bob Alice Prokopová Dita Šamánková Edel Sanders Ivan Rektor Wellbeing and national identity in three generations of Czech and Slovak Holocaust survivors Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience trauma PTSD transgenerational Czech Holocaust |
| title | Wellbeing and national identity in three generations of Czech and Slovak Holocaust survivors |
| title_full | Wellbeing and national identity in three generations of Czech and Slovak Holocaust survivors |
| title_fullStr | Wellbeing and national identity in three generations of Czech and Slovak Holocaust survivors |
| title_full_unstemmed | Wellbeing and national identity in three generations of Czech and Slovak Holocaust survivors |
| title_short | Wellbeing and national identity in three generations of Czech and Slovak Holocaust survivors |
| title_sort | wellbeing and national identity in three generations of czech and slovak holocaust survivors |
| topic | trauma PTSD transgenerational Czech Holocaust |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2022.919217/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT marekpreiss wellbeingandnationalidentityinthreegenerationsofczechandslovakholocaustsurvivors AT marekpreiss wellbeingandnationalidentityinthreegenerationsofczechandslovakholocaustsurvivors AT marekpreiss wellbeingandnationalidentityinthreegenerationsofczechandslovakholocaustsurvivors AT monikafnaskova wellbeingandnationalidentityinthreegenerationsofczechandslovakholocaustsurvivors AT marketanecasova wellbeingandnationalidentityinthreegenerationsofczechandslovakholocaustsurvivors AT radekheissler wellbeingandnationalidentityinthreegenerationsofczechandslovakholocaustsurvivors AT petrbob wellbeingandnationalidentityinthreegenerationsofczechandslovakholocaustsurvivors AT aliceprokopova wellbeingandnationalidentityinthreegenerationsofczechandslovakholocaustsurvivors AT ditasamankova wellbeingandnationalidentityinthreegenerationsofczechandslovakholocaustsurvivors AT edelsanders wellbeingandnationalidentityinthreegenerationsofczechandslovakholocaustsurvivors AT ivanrektor wellbeingandnationalidentityinthreegenerationsofczechandslovakholocaustsurvivors |