When fears come true: The well-being of Holocaust survivors' grandchildren after the October 7, 2023, terror attack.

Objective: Since the late 1960s, there has been substantial research on Holocaust survivors' descendants (children and grandchildren) regarding intergenerational transmission of the survivors' trauma. This research has had complex results that show the need for further examination under stressful conditions. The current research seeks to determine whether the terror attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, had a disproportionate effect on the well-being of grandchildren of Holocaust survivors (GHS).

Method: Participants were 299 Jewish-Israeli adults, 44.6% of whom were GHS and 54.4% of whom had no Holocaust family background (non-GHS). Participants completed self-report questionnaires in two phases. First, they completed the Mental Health Continuum Short Form. Then they were asked to listen to a certain Israeli song that had become a prayer and hope for the hostages coming back home and to fill out the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule.

Results: The GHS participants reported lower psychological and social well-being and lower positive affect during exposure to the song than non-GHS participants.

Conclusions: The current findings suggest that the Holocaust trauma experienced by survivors might transfer to their grandchildren, especially when the grandchildren are challenged by life-threatening situations that are reminiscent of their grandparents' Holocaust trauma and that might activate that trauma. Hence, appropriate health policy decisions need to be made regarding better psychological support for grandchildren of Holocaust survivors during perceived and actual collective life-threatening events. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).