The effects of gender and survival situation of the parent holocaust survivor on their offspring: An attachment perspective

Background: This article examines the attachment characteristics of the offspring as a function of the survival situation of their parents (Holocaust survivors). According to Bowlby’s theory (1), proximity to a significant “other” increases the capability to regulate difficult emotions. Therefore, Holocaust survivors who were accompanied by a significant “other” should be less traumatized than a lone survivor who had to be completely self-reliant during the war. Therefore, we hypothesized that the parent’s survival situation (alone or accompanied by a significant other) affected the way they bonded with their children. We also assume that an association between age of parent during the Holocaust, survival situation (alone or with a significant other), and avoidance attachment orientation of offspring will be found. Methods: One hundred and eighty adult Holocaust survivor offspring were recruited and supplied with a sociodemographic questionnaire. Results: The research results show that offspring of mothers who survived the Holocaust alone have a greater orientation to attachment avoidance than those who survived the Holocaust accompanied by a significant other. Also, offspring of fathers who survived the Holocaust alone showed a greater orientation to attachment avoidance than those who survived the Holocaust in the company of a significant other. Conclusions: The research results highlight the basic argument of Attachment Theory: The need for a significant other to help in engendering in the individual a sense of security, emotional regulation, and the ability to cope with difficult times. That is, the role of the significant other can be pivotal to more than feeling regulation. It can determine the impact and aftershocks of different traumatic events. Along with a host of other variables such as age and gender of trauma survivor, the presence of the significant other may mitigate the traumatic scars that will remain in the future.