The Shade of the Family Tree: Intergenerational Influence

Intergenerational influence refers to the transmission of genetics, values, traditions, and resources from one generation to the next. The process is dynamic, with both continuity and change shaping each generation's identity.

Science has shown that many physical, personality, and behavioral traits are strongly influenced by genes but can also be impacted by environmental factors. For instance, height is strongly influenced by genes, but environmental factors, such as access to good nutrition, can impact ultimate height. We also know that some illnesses, such as alcohol use disorder or depression, have a genetic basis, but environmental and personality factors play a significant role in whether family vulnerability takes hold in certain family members.

Other influences might not have any genetic basis, such as passing down the traditional foods eaten at holidays or expectations around dating, but there can be powerful ties to past generations. War, trauma, immigration, and other momentous life events can also impact future generations in ways that aren’t always immediately apparent but can last for generations.

Several metaphors can be utilized to recognize five facts about intergenerational influence:

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The Ties of the Trees: Invisible Interconnection Exists

The trees in a forest appear to be individual structures, but there is a vast network of underground root connections. In healthy forests, each tree is connected to others via a system enabling them to share water and nutrients. This is especially important for saplings, which must rely on the older, taller trees. This interconnected network that allows trees to share resources and communicate with each other is called the mycorrhizal network or the Wood Wide Web.

Similarly, individuals are indeed autonomous beings yet also invisibly linked in various ways to past and present family members. The ties may not be as physically concrete as those seen among the trees, but the physical and emotional ties are there. Family impact and connections exist, even if there is limited or no contact between members of the family.

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A Ripple Effect: The Burgeoning Field of Epigenetics

Over more recent years, the field of epigenetics has revealed that gene expression can be modified by environmental factors (e.g., stress, trauma, nutrition, toxins) and even passed to future generations without changing DNA sequences. Like a ripple effect of a boulder crashing into a lake being felt hundreds of feet away, significant events in a family member can be experienced by offspring.

One of the more well-known studies demonstrating the epigenetic transmission of knowledge across generations in mice was conducted by Dias and Ressler (2014). The researchers trained mice to fear a specific scent, acetophenone (a chemical with a sweet, cherry-like smell), by associating the scent with a mild electric shock. The significant findings demonstrated that the offspring (children and grandchildren) of these mice—who had never been exposed to acetophenone or received shocks—also showed a strong fear response to the scent.

This suggests a possible mechanism for transgenerational trauma in humans, where stress or trauma in parents might affect future generations' mental health. Scientists are exploring how some environmental influences (such as famine or the Holocaust) can alter gene expression in ways that persist across generations, with increasingly more evidence that there can be inheritance of stress-related genetic markers.

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Echoes and Shadows: Remembering Significant Family Events

Aside from genetic influence from past significant events, many families also have life events which have become known as memorable and notable. Uncle Joey having crashed his first car or Grandma Betty having won the spelling bee contest becomes part of family stories passed down. Often, there is humor or shock in the stories, but almost always, they come with lessons learned to be disseminated among the younger generations. These sorts of recollections become more like echoes in the valley, being shared and retold frequently. There is voice given to some of the occurrences, which can serve as a connection and a communication.

Some family stories are not told so openly, and we might consider these to be more like shadows. They lurk in the background somewhat more ominously but remain difficult to pinpoint. The children might be aware that their mother had a rough upbringing but aren’t allowed to ask about it; the family might know that the transition to the new country was difficult, but details about the process are sketchy because their father shuts down any questions about the transition. Despite fewer stories being told and repeated, the impact remains silently significant.

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The Bridge: Intercultural Crossings

Cross-cultural immigration or displacement adds additional elements of impact. A child may not understand why their parents insist upon continued use of another language or doing something “like the old country,” while another family might avoid or even forbid discussion about their past.

Families approach their metaphorical bridges differently. Some cross the bridge to a new geographical location and cut ties completely, creating a one-way passage of sorts; these sorts of situations are often due to hurts or traumas that they are hoping to forget. Other families have wider and well-traveled metaphorical bridges and aim to maintain a foot on both sides of the bridge. Parents of the latter families are often working hard to be sure the newer generation maintains a connection with family traditions and cultural practices.

An additional intercultural crossing complication can sometimes occur when the younger generation is less interested than their parents in returning to the original side of the bridge or holding space for both sides. Influences from the newer home can prompt cultural norms to evolve, with teens often challenging traditional values while their parents attempt to retain foundational beliefs. Navigating these differences can cause challenges and conflict.

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Car Mirrors: Glance Back and Move Forward

Having an awareness of our history and past can be interesting and helpful, but we ultimately need to live in the present. Like the use of our rearview and side mirrors in a car, we might look back to inform a bit of where we have been and what is behind us, but we do also need to focus on moving forward and ahead.

Covering the review view or the side mirrors completely is not likely realistic for peaceful traversing through life’s challenges. There is often much to be learned in exploring the highlights and lowlights of a family tree. If a family has a history of addiction, trauma, or multiple displacements, facing this difficulty is going to be much more effective generally than pretending it does not exist. Our goal in such situations would be to repair rather than re-live or repeat.

Studying more about the strengths, successes, and examples of great resilience that previous generations demonstrated can also yield insight, which can inform and fortify the newest family branches. Knowing how hardships were overcome and who succeeded despite setbacks can not only make us proud but also inspire us.

We are genetically and experientially influenced by previous generations. Uncovering more about the past also helps us understand the choices we must make in the present. We can build upon the past to make new positive adaptations and create our own best path forward.