The Impact of Childhood Trauma on Neuropsychological Disorders and Its Intergenerational Transmission Mechanisms

Childhood trauma is adversely linked to a spectrum of physical and neurobehavioral disorders, further facilitating the intergenerational transmission of familial trauma. This review systematically elaborates on the profound impacts of childhood trauma on both survivors and their descendants. It provides an in-depth analysis of the complex mechanisms underlying this intergenerational transmission, and innovatively proposes an Environmental-Psychological-Physiological-Molecular (EPPM) multilevel cross-generational interaction model. This model encompasses behavioral transmission of negative parenting, neural encoding of traumatic stress, intergenerational neurophysiological basis, biological permeation of the intrauterine environment, and mechanisms of epigenetic remodeling. This provides a scientific basis for deepening our understanding of the long-term consequences of trauma, promoting the development of early intervention strategies from an interdisciplinary perspective, and breaking the intergenerational cycle of trauma.