A Structural Model of Intergenerational Trauma Transmission in Post-Colonial Nigerian Families: Epigenetic, Psychological, and Sociocultural Pathways

The intergenerational transmission of trauma represents one of the most complex and undertheorised problems in global psychology, and its specific pathways in Nigerian families shaped by colonial violence, ethnic conflict, and material deprivation have not been subjected to original theoretical and empirical inquiry. This study develops and tests a structural model of intergenerational trauma transmission in Nigerian families through a multi-method longitudinal investigation. Phase 1 applies a three-generation family study design recruiting 150 family triads (grandparents, parents, adult children) from families with documented conflict or famine exposure in Borno State and Anambra State. Phase 2 uses structured clinical interviews, validated trauma and parenting instruments, and salivary cortisol and DNA methylation markers as biological proxies. Structural equation modelling with multi-generational data in R examines psychological, parenting practice, and epigenetic transmission pathways. Phase 3 comprises 30 in-depth family narrative interviews analysed through Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. Yehuda's Epigenetic Transmission Framework, Bowlby's Attachment Theory, and Postcolonial Psychology provide the multi-level theoretical scaffolding. The original contribution is a Nigerian Intergenerational Trauma Transmission Model integrating psychological, biological, and sociocultural pathways. Findings will advance the theoretical understanding of trauma transmission in African contexts and inform family-based trauma intervention design. Keywords: intergenerational trauma, epigenetics, Nigerian families, postcolonial psychology, structural model.