The Psychometric Properties of the Intergenerational Trauma Socialization Inventory: Development and Validation of a Multidimensional Measure of Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma Among Lao American Families

Refugees face significant mental health struggles due to violence, torture, and trauma from war, genocide, and the process of migration. The effects of severe trauma extend beyond direct victims of traumatic experiences, shaping the mental health of future generations. Yet, quantitative measures assessing mechanisms of how parental trauma is transmitted from parents to offspring are limited. This study examines the validity of the Intergenerational Trauma Socialization Inventory (ITSI), a new measure that assesses socialization pathways of trauma transmission, among Lao American young adults. The ITSI demonstrated an adequate five-factor structure in exploratory factor analyses in Study 1with a sample of 89 Lao American young adults. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analyses were conducted with a sample of 223 Lao American young adults to confirm the five-factor structure derived from the EFA. The correlated five factor model revealed the best fit, χ2 (528) = 1038.67, p<.05; RMSEA=0.07; CFI=0.90, revealing multiple pathways of trauma transmission: parental silence, observing parental response to past trauma, sharing as instruction, sharing through cultural channels, and internalization of parental trauma. Bivariate correlations indicated that these pathways of trauma transmission were significantly associated with measures of somatic symptoms and depressive symptoms, suggesting concurrent validity. The ITSI also indicated strong reliability (α > 0.84) for all factors. The ITSI can be a helpful measure in assessing pathways of trauma transmission among refugee families and can be used to inform family interventions and community mental health programs to promote health communication pathways in sharing of familial and cultural histories, thereby potentially reducing the impact of trauma on subsequent generations within families and refugee communities.