She then looks at the seemingly insurmountable obstacles that African Americans faced as the result of the slave trade. DeGruy first exposes the reader to the conditions that led to the Atlantic slave trade and allowed the pursuant racism and efforts at repression to continue through present day. The book Post-Traumatic Slave Syndrome incorporates her research in both America and Africa, as well as her twenty years of experience as a social work practitioner and consultant to public and private organizations.

The physical characteristics of ones own identified cultural/ethnic group The mores and customs associated ones own identified cultural/ethnic heritage The members of ones own identified cultural/ethnic group Learned helplessness, literacy deprivation, distorted self-concept, antipathy or aversion for the following: Violence against self, property, and others, including the members of one’s own group, i.e. DeGruy refers to as primary esteem, along with feelings of hopelessness, depression and a general self-destructive outlook.Įxtreme feelings of suspicion perceived negative motivations of others. KEY PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR REFLECTIVE OF P.T.S.S. Under such circumstances, these are some of the predictable patterns of behavior that tend to occur: M: Multigenerational trauma together with continued oppressionĪ: Absence of opportunity to heal or access the benefits available in the society leading to This was then followed by institutionalized racism which continues to perpetuate injury, t hus resulting in M.A.P. It is a condition that exists as a consequence of multigenerational oppression of Africans and their descendants resulting from centuries of chattel slavery–a form of slavery which was predicated on the belief that African Americans were inherently/genetically inferior to whites. is a theory that explains the etiology of many of the adaptive survival behaviors in African American communities throughout the United States and the Diaspora.

The book addresses the residual impacts of generations of slavery and opens up the discussion of how the black community can use the strengths we have developed in the past to heal in the present. DeGruy has developed her theory of Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome, publishing her findings in the book ' Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome – America’s Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing ”. As a result of twelve years of quantitative and qualitative research, Dr.

Dr joy degruy leary