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There's no getting around the fact that bad things happen to people,
我們沒有辦法應付厄運降臨的事實，
things that are often outside of their control.
事情經常失去控制。
And the psychological effects of wars, natural disasters, and other types of violence and accidents
戰爭、自然災害、其他暴力和事故的心理作用
don't just go away when the war ends.
并不會隨戰爭結束而消失。
They can leave people traumatized.
它們會留給人們創傷。
Many people who are exposed to traumas like war get diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD,
很多遭受戰爭等創傷的人都被診斷患有創傷后應激障礙（PTSD），
where thoughts or anxieties about the events can plague them in other parts of their lives,
他們對事件的想法或焦慮會困擾他們生活的其他方面，
and seemingly benign things can trigger a fear response.
并且看似無害的東西也會引發恐懼反應。
But hopefully, once a war goes down in history and few generations pass,
但順利的話，一旦戰爭在歷史上堙沒，并且幾代人過去之后，
we'll be free of the trauma, right?
我們就不會遭受創傷了，對吧？
Unfortunately, it's not so simple. Trauma can affect future generations, too.
不幸的是，事情并非如此簡單。創傷可能會影響后代。
For example, in a study of 100 Holocaust survivors,
例如，在對100名大屠殺幸存者的研究中，
researchers found that their children were more likely to get a PTSD diagnosis,
研究人員發現，他們的孩子更容易患上PTSD，
even though they didn't report any more traumatic experience in their lives than a similar control group did.
即使報道說這些人與類似對照組相比，生命中沒有更痛苦的經歷。
What they did get was stories from their parents really distressing stories.
他們患上PTSD是因為他們父母的痛苦故事。
And hearing about threats to your family, even in the past, can be traumatic on its own.
得知對家人的威脅，即使是在過去，可能也會給自己帶來創傷。
But that might not be the only explanation.
但這可能不是唯一的解釋。
Trauma could also be inherited biologically, sort of like what gets passed on through our genes.
創傷從生物學上講可以遺傳，類似于通過基因傳遞的物質。
And since it's a big part of understanding, people is knowing about the different factors
因為它是理解的重要部分，人們正在逐步了解
that can affect their thought processes and behaviors,
影響他們思維過程和行為的不同因素，
psychologists want to figure out how this works.
所以心理學家想弄明白其原理。
So far, we do have some evidence that trauma can be passed biologically from one generation to the next,
到目前為止，我們確實有一些證據表明，創傷可以通過生理一代代傳遞，
but it's very limited.
但它非常有限。
A lot of it comes from a study published in 2015,
很多證據來自于2015年發表的一項研究，
where researchers did some genetic tests on a sample of 32 Holocaust survivors, 22 of their children,
研究人員對32名大屠殺幸存者、22名他們的子女，
as well as a demographically similar control group.
以及人口統計學上類似對照組樣本進行了基因測試。
They were looking at what's known as the methylation of the genes,
他們研究的是基因的甲基化，
where a DNA molecule gets a sort of hop-on, called a methyl group.
即一個DNA分子得到某種甲基。
If a gene has a lot of methyl groups attached to it,
如果一個基因有很多甲基鏈接，
they can create problems with copying that gene,
甲基會在基因復制時會產生困難，
or can keep the gene from doing what it's supposed to.
或者阻止基因去做它應該做的事情。
Studying methylation is part of the field of epigenetics,
研究甲基化是表觀遺傳學的一部分，
the study of what can be inherited or passed on from parent to child biologically,
表觀遺傳學是從生物學上，對父母到孩子的遺傳進行的研究，
but outside of the actual letters of your DNA.
但它在DNA的實際意義范圍之外。
Since methylation levels can change based on your environment,
因為甲基化水平可以根據環境而變化，
it's a way things that happen in your life can affect what you pass down.
是生活事件影響遺傳的一種方法。
And the researchers found that compared to the control groups,
研究人員發現，與對照組相比，
both the Holocaust survivors and their children had higher methylation levels in a gene related to stress response.
在與應激反應相關的基因中，大屠殺幸存者和他們的孩子都有更高的甲基化水平。
Previous research showed that gene was related to an increased risk of developing a psychological disorder like PTSD,
先前的研究表明，基因與增加的患心理障礙如創傷后應激障礙的風險有關，
in people who experienced some kind of trauma in their childhood.
有這些障礙的人在童年時經歷過某種創傷。
So the team thought they might have found a biological way for trauma to be inherited:
因此，研究小組認為他們可能發現了一個創傷被遺傳的生物學途徑：
through increased methylation that gets passed on.
通過增加遺傳的甲基化作用。
But there are some problems with this study.
但這項研究存在一些問題。
Among other things, the sample size was pretty small.
除其他因素外，它的樣本量相當小。
And we'd have to look back a few more generations to see if the methylation changed when the trauma happened,
我們還需要回顧幾代人來看看，當創傷發生時甲基化是否會改變，
or if it was always higher in that group.
或者它是否在那個組中總是更高的。
So, the evidence so far is kinda tenuous, and we'll need a lot more research before we know for sure.
因此，到目前為止，證據還不夠充分，我們還需要更多研究才能確定。
That said, the idea that trauma can be inherited isn't too far-fetched.
也就是說，創傷可以被遺傳的觀點有點兒牽強。
We know that other chronic stresses can have an effect on children, sometimes through a biological mechanism.
我們知道其他慢性壓力有時可能會通過生物機制對孩子產生影響，
But even if we never find a biological way to explain
但即使我們從未找到一個生物學方法來解釋
how parents who've experienced trauma can pass it on to their kids,
那些經歷過創傷的父母如何把創傷傳給孩子，
there's a much simpler explanation that has a lot more research to back it up.
但仍有一個更簡單的解釋，它有更多研究支持。
Usually, parents shape a lot of the environment their kids grow up in,
通常，父母會塑造孩子成長的環境，
which can make a big difference when it comes to their mental health.
這對他們的心理健康有很大影響。
We know this happens with some clinical conditions, like depression.
我們知道這種情況發生在一些臨床癥狀上，比如抑郁癥。
Depression can run in families, and we know about some genes that might be risk factors.
抑郁癥出現在家庭中，而且我們知道一些基因可能是危險因素。
If one person gets diagnosed with depression,
如果一個人被診斷患有抑郁癥，
it's not only more likely that a child will get a diagnosis, but also that a grandchild will.
不僅他的孩子更有可能確診，孫輩也有可能得抑郁癥。
But even in cases in which there isn't this long family pattern,
但即使沒有這種長期的家庭模式，
having a depressed parent has effects on a child's functioning,
患有抑郁癥的父母對孩子的機能也有影響，
like how well they handle daily life stresses.
比如他們如何處理好日常生活的壓力。
You can see similar patterns with alcoholism.
你可以看到與酗酒相似的模式。
Even though there's a known genetic element that makes children of alcoholics more likely to be alcoholic themselves,
盡管有一種已知的遺傳因素讓酗酒者的孩子更容易酗酒，
there are other ways people can inherit that stress from their parents.
但人們可以通過其他方式從父母那里繼承這種壓力。
Having an alcoholic parent makes people more likely to show higher neuroticism,
父母酗酒更可能讓人在青少年時期表現出更高的神經過敏癥、
psychiatric stress, and aggressive behavior in adolescence,
精神壓力和攻擊性行為，
but the thing is, it makes a difference whether their parent is a recovered alcoholic or not.
但問題是，不管他們的父母是否再次酗酒，這種行為都有作用。
Meaning, it's not just their shared genetics.
意思是，這不僅僅是因為他們共同的基因。
The environment the child is living in can put them at increased risk.
孩子所處的環境使他們面臨更大的風險。
And if a parent has experienced trauma, that can have a big effect on their kids' environment.
如果父母經歷過創傷，對孩子的環境會有很大影響。
For children of Holocaust survivors, for example,
例如，對于大屠殺幸存者的孩子來說，
even hearing stories from their parents could change their view of the world.
即使聽說的父母故事也能改變他們對世界的看法。
So we know there's a risk that's carried to children,
所以我們知道有一種風險會傳染給孩子們，
even if the epigenetics idea turns out to be a fluke.
即使表觀遺傳學的想法是僥幸成功的。
But it's also important to remember that a risk factor isn't an equal sign.
但重要的是記住，一個風險因素不是一個等號。
Having a parent that experienced trauma or had a clinical disorder doesn't mean you will too.
有經歷過創傷或有臨床癥狀的父母并不意味著你也會這樣。
Research shows that things like promoting positive parent-child interactions
研究表明，促進積極的親子互動
and teaching coping skills to children of depressed parents can reduce some of these risks.
同時向有抑郁癥父母的孩子傳授應對技巧等活動可以減少這些風險。
So even though kids are at risk of inheriting some negative consequences if their parents have experienced trauma,
所以，如果孩子們的父母經歷過創傷，即使他們有繼承一些消極后果的風險，
it is certainly not inevitable.
都是可以避免的。
Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow Psych,
感謝您收看本期的心理科學秀，
and if you're interested in learning more about the science of epigenetics,
如果你對學習更多表觀遺傳學有興趣，
you can check out our video about it on the main SciShow channel.
可以在主科學秀頻道觀看我們的視頻。
