Mutual involvement and alienation in families of Holocaust survivors

Clinical studies suggest that children of Holocaust survivors remain enmeshed with their families or alienated from them. To examine the applicability of these observations to a nonclinic population, questionnaire responses of a randomly selected community sample of adult children (ages 19-36) of Holocaust survivors (COS) were compared to those of children of other immigrants (COI), and of children of native-born parents (CON). The clinical findings were not supported in most of the wide range of possible manifestations of ties to or distance from the family. COS did, however, report more dissatisfaction with some aspects of the cross-sexed parents' disciplinary habits in the past. Male COS continued to feel that way in the present, wishing their mothers would be more permissive. Documented negative consequences of prolonged, severe victimization may affect only small segments of the second generation.