Passing Down Incarceration: Exploring Intergenerational Trauma and Mass Incarceration in Black American Communities.

Background: Slavery, convict leasing, the War on Drugs, and mass incarceration have created a legacy of systemic oppression that disproportionately targets families and communities of color. Mass incarceration, rooted in historical injustices and maintained through systemic racism, continues to fracture communities. Structural barriers such as economic disenfranchisement, discriminatory policies, and social stigma contribute to disproportionate incarceration rates and the significant challenges that follow for families and communities. Objective: This article aims to explore the role of intergenerational trauma in perpetuating incarceration among Black American communities. It seeks to examine how historical and behavioral patterns contribute to the cycle of imprisonment and identify how the risk of incarceration may be transmitted across generations. Methods: A conceptual and theoretical review approach is employed, integrating frameworks including posttraumatic slave syndrome (PTSS), the minority stress model (MSM), critical race theory (CRT), and Intersectionality. These frameworks are used to analyze how systemic and historical oppression shape present-day disparities in incarceration and affect family structures and mental health. Findings: The analysis reveals that the intergenerational transmission of trauma, compounded by systemic racism and structural inequities, plays a significant role in the continued overrepresentation of Black Americans in the carceral system. Divided community perspectives on how to address crime further complicate responses. The compounded effects of overlapping marginalized identities intensify the impact of incarceration on individuals and families. Conclusions: Mass incarceration cannot be fully addressed without acknowledging and dismantling the historical and structural forces that sustain it. Understanding incarceration through the lenses of PTSS, MSM, CRT, and intersectionality provides critical insight into the lived experiences of Black American communities. The article concludes with clinical implications for supporting affected families and proposes future directions for research and systemic change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]