Transgenerational Transmission of Trauma: Psychiatric Evaluation of Offspring of Former “Comfort Women,” Survivors of the Japanese Military Sexual Slavery during World War II

“Comfort women” are survivors of sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, who endured extensive trauma including massive rape and physical torture. While previous studies have been focused on the trauma of the survivors themselves, the effects of the trauma on the offspring has never been evaluated before. In this article, we reviewed the first study on the offspring of former “comfort women” and aimed to detect the evidence of transgenerational transmission of trauma. In-depth psychiatric interviews and the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Axis I Disorders were conducted with six offspring of former “comfort women.” Among the six participants, five suffered from at least one psychiatric disorder including major depressive disorder, panic disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, adjustment disorder, insomnia disorder, somatic symptom disorder, and alcohol use disorder. Participants showed similar shame and hyperarousal symptoms as their mothers regarding stimuli related to the “comfort woman” issue. Increased irritability, problems with aggression control, negative worldview, and low self-esteem were evident in the children of mothers with posttraumatic stress disorder. Finding evidence of transgenerational transmission of trauma in offspring of “comfort women” is important. Future studies should include more samples and adopt a more objective method.

Psychiatric Sequelae of Former “Comfort Women,” Survivors of the Japanese Military Sexual Slavery during World War II

“Comfort women” refers to young women and girls who were forced into sexual slavery by the Imperial Japanese military during World War II. They were abducted from their homes in countries under Imperial Japanese rule, mostly from Korea, and the rest from China, Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, Indonesia, the Netherlands, etc. “Comfort women” endured extreme trauma involving rape, sexual torture, physical abuse, starvation, threats of death, and witnessed many others being tortured and killed. This article reviews all the studies that have investigated the psychiatric or psychosocial sequelae of the survivors of the Japanese military sexual slavery. Most importantly, a recent study which conducted a psychiatric evaluation on the former “comfort women” currently alive in South Korea is introduced. The participants’ unmarried rate was relatively high and their total fertility rate was relatively low. Majority of the participants reported having no education and being the low economic status. They showed high current and lifetime prevalence of posttraumatic disorder, major depressive disorder, somatic symptom disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and alcohol use disorder. Participants showed high suicidality and majority of the participants still reported being ashamed of being former “comfort women” after all these years. This article high-lights the fact that the trauma has affected the mental health and social functioning of former “comfort women” throughout their lives, and even to the present day.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder of Former Comfort Women for Japanese Army during World War II / 신경정신의학

OBJECTIVES: This study was performed to identify posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in survivors of Japanese military sexual slavery during World War II. METHODS : Twenty six survived victims were evaluated with Korean version of SCID-IV, MMSE, Geriatric Depression Scale and State and Trait Anger Inventory (STAXI) and Rorschach test, and compared with 24 healthy women elders. RESULTS : Results showed that, of 26 victims, 8 victims (30.8%) met criteria of PTSD and all 26 had suffered from symptoms of PTSD once in their lives. Their PTSD symptoms were characterized by the effort to avoid thoughts, feelings, or conversations associated with the trauma and recurrent distressing dreams of the events. Survivors with PTSD had more serious depression. Compared with the control group, victims had more difficulties in anger control. They still suffer from various physical sequelae of physical trauma. In Rorschach test, they showed distorted perceptions, difficulty in managing emotional reactions, invading thoughts, impulsivity, and internalized anger and aggression. CONCLUSION : All victims suffered from symptoms of PTSD one time or another. About one third of them were diagnosed as having PTSD. Their PTSD symptoms were complicated by the mixtures depression, anger and various physical sequelae of physical trauma.