Community Event: Memory and Resilience to Violence, Stress, and Trauma

Conte Center Colloquium Series

Memory and Resilience to Violence, Stress, and Trauma

Catherine Panter-Brick
Professor of Anthropology, Health, and Global Affairs, Yale University / Senior Editor, Social Science & Medicine / Conflict, Resilience & Health Program Director

We know relatively little about the nature of traumatic memory for civilian populations affected by war, especially children and adolescents. To what extent do fixed or malleable memories of violent events predict resilience to stress and trauma? My work in humanitarian settings shows that youth tend to forget distressing experiences over time, but also that ongoing family conflict shapes the recall of trauma and individual trajectories of posttraumatic distress and depression. I discuss how mental health, trauma, and memory are embedded in subjective and social experiences, as well as evidenced in biological stress pathways, in order to inform the science of resilience.

Refreshments served at 6:15 p.m.