Context:  The arrest of Bernard Madoff on December 11, 2008 augured the largest financial Ponzi scandal in global history.  As much as $61 billion dollars in assets disappeared along with victim’s lifelong savings and legacies.  Many victims were networked; entire families, communities, and charitable institutions were adversely affected.  .

  
 

Conclusion: Eight to 10 months following the “Madoff” scandal, a PTSD prevalence rate of 55.7% was found in a population of former investors.  This high rate coincides with PTSD prevalence during the first year of other “human-made” disasters.  This trauma appears to be compounded by high rates of lost confidence in government systems designed to protect investor security in case of fraud. This raises a public health concern as to how governmental response can offer risk or protection against dire mental health outcomes during times of severe economic trauma

 

 If you have questions about the survey results , please contact me directly by phone at 516 678-2549 or  mailto:afresh314@gmail.com


Adult Children of Holocaust Survivors and Substance Use Results:   

By Audrey Freshman

Perception of maternal PTSD as a risk factor for substance use disorder: Evidence from adult children of Holocaust survivors. New York University, Ph.D. 

 

This online study explored the relationship between maternal Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and level of substance use (SUD) in a population of 402 adult children of Holocaust survivors (CHS) recruited from online support groups serving the Jewish community.   Previous research has demonstrated a relationship between PTSD and SUD comorbidity. The perception of maternal PTSD and levels of alcohol and/or drug use in offspring were examined using the SMAST, DAST, The Parental Posttraumatic Stress Questionnaire (PPQ) and the PTSD Checklist (PCL-C).  The results confirmed that offspring with higher levels of their own PTSD also rated their mothers as having higher levels of PTSD.  In total, 40.4 % of CHS met DSM-IV criteria for current PTSD and 60.4% rated their mothers as having a DSM-IV PTSD diagnosis.   Offspring also rated their mothers as having problems with anxiety (81%), depression (70.3%) mood altering-prescription medications (18.5%) and alcohol (2.9%).  CHS that rated their mothers as having higher levels of PTSD also had significantly higher levels of their own alcohol and drug use.  More than twice as many CHS identified a problem with drugs (13.6%) than alcohol (6.1%).  These findings confirm high prevalence rates of PTSD in Holocaust survivors and their offspring.   It also suggests that the intergenerational transmission of maternal PTSD is a possible risk factor for SUD in the second-generation of trauma survivors.