Morgan Phillips, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Clinical Psychology at the University of Houston, has been selected to receive a Frances Fowler Wallace Memorial Award. Her dissertation is titled “Intergenerational Trauma and Resilience” and her research will examine the intergenerational processes, or experiences/traits as passed down through generations, with a focus on large-scale historical events shared by entire communities, such as war, genocide, and apartheid, rather than individual experiences.
Frances Fowler Wallace, the award’s namesake, was married to John Forsythe Wallace, a member of the Texas House of Representatives and the State Board of Control during the 1920s and 30s. Ms. Wallace died in Austin on July 18, 1972, at the age of 80. As directed in her will, the memorial award provides partial support for doctoral students’ dissertation research on “the cause, treatment, cure, and prevention of mental disease, mental illness, and mental disorders.” The award provides up to $3,000 for research-related expenses.
We spoke to Morgan about her research:
Tell us about yourself. At what point did you decide to pursue this particular line of research, and what influenced that decision?
My name is Morgan Phillips and I am a 4th year Ph.D. candidate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Houston. I was first introduced to mental health research during my undergraduate studies at Georgia State University, where I majored in Psychology and minored in Africana Studies. My passion for both fields deepened my commitment to understanding how mental health issues may present differently among communities of color, where clear mental health disparities exist. This led me to ask questions like, “What specific factors influence mental health among various communities? In which ways can treatment be developed or tailored to the client’s experience, environment, or presenting problem?”
After completing my bachelor’s degree, I spent a year as a research assistant working on several projects aimed at understanding common mental health issues such as stress, anxiety, and depression. Together, these experiences strengthened my commitment to conducting research that will identify modifiable factors to inform mental health treatment among various populations.
Your dissertation is titled “Intergenerational Trauma and Resilience.” What questions are you trying to answer with this work?
My dissertation examines intergenerational processes, or experiences/traits that are passed down through generations, with a focus on large-scale historical events shared by entire communities, such as war, genocide, and apartheid, rather than individual experiences. I am interested in understanding how these processes are transmitted across generations and how they affect mental health today. More specifically, my research seeks to answer five key questions:
- What adaptive mental health factors are associated with intergenerational resilience?
- What adverse mental health factors are associated with intergenerational trauma?
- What psychological mechanisms may sustain these experiences?
- Is there an interplay between intergenerational trauma and resilience?
- If so, how are these two processes related to one another?
Ultimately, I aim to understand both intergenerational trauma and intergenerational resilience as distinct but connected processes, and how each shapes a person’s current psychological well-being.
What led to you taking a professional interest in this particular topic?
Throughout my graduate career, I have been interested in studying various forms of trauma, including individual trauma such as PTSD and trauma related to racial discrimination. My master’s thesis investigated racial trauma and its associated mental health outcomes. Through that work, I came to see racial trauma as one form of intergenerational trauma, a harm that is transmitted across generations. This sparked my curiosity about other types of intergenerational experiences.
However, when I reviewed the existing psychological literature, I noticed a significant gap: there was very little research on historical intergenerational trauma, the specific factors that sustain it, or how it is transmitted from one generation to the next. I also found that most research focused solely on the harmful effects of intergenerational trauma, without exploring the parallel pathway of intergenerational resilience, or the ways in which strength, adaptability, and other protective qualities can also be passed down. Therefore, I became interested in pursuing a more holistic understanding of intergenerational experiences, one that acknowledges both their potential for harm and their capacity for healing.
How do you think your research methods and approach will help you answer the questions that you’re posing?
My research uses a quantitative approach (i.e., collecting and analyzing numerical data) because there is currently a dearth of quantitative evidence connecting intergenerational processes to mental health outcomes. I chose to use measures of intergenerational trauma and resilience that can be applied across multiple populations, so that my findings are broadly relevant. Since historical intergenerational trauma and resilience can affect people across the world, including here in Texas, it is important that the tools I use are all-encompassing.
My approach also examines a wide range of factors, including clinical, contextual, risk, and resilience factors, to build a comprehensive understanding of intergenerational processes and their relationship to psychological well-being and distress. My study is conducted through an online survey, which allows people from across the state and country to be represented in this work.
After completing data collection, I will analyze the results to better understand how intergenerational processes are transmitted and how they relate to current mental health functioning. My goal is to provide evidence that intergenerational processes have real, tangible effects on a person’s psychological health today, and that these effects can be both harmful and adaptive. Regardless of my findings, I hope future researchers will build on this work using a variety of methodologies, such as longitudinal studies that track participants over time.
Who stands to benefit from your research?
My research has the potential to benefit a wide range of individuals, communities, and mental health professionals. Unfortunately, trauma does not discriminate. It affects people across the world, regardless of race, nationality, or background. Many populations have endured large-scale historical events, such as war, genocide, displacement, and systemic oppression, and the effects of those experiences do not simply disappear over time. Instead, these experiences and resulting learned behaviors or traits can be passed down through generations, shaping the mental health and well-being of people who may never have directly experienced the original event themselves.
By examining both intergenerational trauma and intergenerational resilience, this research aims to deepen our understanding of these complex processes and how they continue to affect the psychological health of people today. Furthermore, it can also benefit mental health researchers and clinicians by offering a more complete picture of how trauma is transmitted, and how resilience and healing can be transmitted alongside it.
Through a comprehensive understanding of intergenerational processes, we can advance psychological treatment to aid in the individual and collective healing of numerous populations. Ultimately, a better understanding of intergenerational processes can inform more culturally sensitive and effective mental health treatment, not only here in Texas, but across the country and around the world.
Are there any suggested readings you can recommend for those who might be interested in learning more about the topic?
Yes. I am so happy that people are excited to learn about intergenerational trauma and resilience.
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