With recent studies, Simone Gorko said, a new view of survivor families has emerged - that, as a group, they are no more traumatized than other Americans. Philadelphia psychologist Bea Hollander-Goldfein, the child of survivors, is still conducting one of the most comprehensive studies. Head of an eight-year project called Transcending Trauma, she has interviewed more than 300 survivors on how they rebuilt their world. This trend did not reflect the positive traits she observed in her own family. Recovery, she said, needs to be seen in a larger context - coping strategies used before and after the war.
Faith is one such strategy.
And, as a result of her interviews, Hollander-Goldfein has concluded that 97 percent of survivors continued to believe in God. She also found that the worst experiences did not necessarily generate the most difficult adjustments. Stories told in a positive light often were inspiring. But silence could leave children longing to know more, sometimes leading them to believe they were causing a parent's unhappiness. Meanwhile, parents who dwelt on the war's pain tended to burden children with that pain.