Using an oral history approach to understand perspectives of intergenerational trauma in African American women.

Authors

Raven S Wright-Smith, Vinisha Flavia Dsouza, Taleah A Frazier, Andrew Bradford, Charity Lackey, Amnazo Muhirwa, Jada Brooks, Latonia Clark Chalmers, Susan Gaylord, Cheryl Giscombe

Published in

Archives of psychiatric nursing. Volume 64. Pages 152222. Epub Aug 22, 2026.

Abstract

This brief report explores how African American women describe the intergenerational transmission of trauma and its perceived influence on stress and cardiometabolic health. Using an Oral History approach, semi-structured interviews were analyzed from participants in the parent HARMONY study. Analytic themes spanned work-life imbalance, medical racism, hypervigilance, reproductive autonomy, and physical safety. Women described balancing "controlled emotions" and "controlled actions" to navigate relationships and maintain bodily control. Although findings are preliminary and non-generalizable, they highlight the value of integrating oral history, life-course, and psychobiological perspectives to inform culturally responsive interventions addressing cycles of embodied harm.

PMID:
42863916
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 13 Oct 2026.

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