Generational Trauma in Witch Trials

As a Child Development major, I frequently discuss the concept of generational trauma concerning childhood experiences. Adverse Childhood Experiences, commonly known as ACES are instances of trauma, abuse, or neglect in childhood that create toxic stress in the brains of children. These experiences typically happen at the hands of parents or caregivers. ACES become generational trauma when parents treat their children the same way their parents treated them or people fall into cyclical patterns of addiction and neglect as past family members. ACES are incredibly common with half of all children in the United States having at least one and 91% of the foster care system having one by the age of 6 (Indiana Univeristy Health, 2020). The only way to break out of generational trauma is to identify traumas and treat them as early as possible. 

 Graphic Depictions of Different ACES Today

This made me think of Dorothy Good and the many other children impacted by the Salem Witch Trial. The trials would certainly be considered an ACE by today's standards. One of the ACES is a child's mother being treated violently. The childhood experience of watching your mother be accused of witchcraft and hung or even being accused yourself can be detrimental to a child's mental health. I was curious to see if experiencing a witch trial had generational repercussions. 

In Europe, since so many women were accused throughout history, it is difficult to track specific generational struggles but as a whole women in Europe are quieter and frequently mistrust other women than in other parts of the world (Sherwood, 2022). While we may never know if this stems back to being tortured and forced to give up other women as "witches" during interviews, it is an interesting correlation. In parts of Africa where witch hunts still happen, witchcraft allegations have been known to tear families apart and lead to an entire lineage being isolated from the rest of society. Even generations later, those families are still remembered for their connection to witchcraft leading to depression and marginalization even if they themselves were not accused (Awortwe et. al., 2023). 

Little Girl Protesting Witchcraft Allegations in Nigeria

All that aside, research has found that when children experience traumatic events in Africa like civil conflicts, poverty, and epidemics, they begin to recite idioms of witchcraft taught by their elders as a coping mechanism (Reis, 2013). This depicts how witchcraft is passed down and offers comfort and connection to family, showing its multifacetedness, not just being the stem of trauma. While generational trauma and witchcraft are not tightly wound together, they do connect and it is important to discuss the social and emotional impacts allegations can have on those who experience them as well as their future family members. 

Citations: 

Awortwe, V., Litela Asare, J., Logoniga Gariba, S., Rakibu Mbamba, C., & Ansie, V. (2023). Witchcraft accusations and older adults: insights from family members on the struggles of well-being. Journal of Religion, Spirituality & Aging, 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1080/15528030.2023.224640

Indiana University Health. (2021, March 23). Generational Trauma: Breaking the Cycle of Adverse Childhood…. IU Health. https://iuhealth.org/thrive/generational-trauma-breaking-the-cycle-of-adverse-childhood-experiences

Reis R. Children enacting idioms of witchcraft and spirit possession as a response to trauma: Therapeutically beneficial, and for whom? Transcultural Psychiatry. 2013;50(5):622-643. doi:10.1177/1363461513503880

Sherwood, H. (2022, January 2). Early Modern witch-hunts “Left Britain with Collective Wound.” The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jan/02/early-modern-witch-hunts-left-britain-with-collective-wound