Investigating the Intergenerational Impact of Trauma on the Survivors of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi on Executive Functions

Executive functions are higher-order cognitive processes that enable individuals to plan, organize, regulate emotions, shift between tasks, and inhibit inappropriate responses. These abilities are critical for academic performance, occupational success, and adaptive daily living (Diamond, 2013). This study examines how trauma experienced by one generation particularly the collective trauma of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi may influence the executive functioning of their descendants. Trauma is known to affect the prefrontal cortex and its networks with limbic and subcortical structures, often resulting in difficulties with working memory, cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and decision-making (Falconer et al., 2008; Shonkoff et al., 2012). In the Rwandan post-genocide context, many survivors adapted their problem-solving, emotional regulation, and decision-making styles under extreme adversity (Vasterling et al., 2002; Navalta et al., 2006). These patterns may influence not only the neurobiology of their children but also the behavioral strategies and cognitive habits they adopt (Yehuda & Bierer, 2008; Van IJzendoorn et al., 2020; Mutuyimana & Maercker, 2022). The purpose of this study is to investigate whether intergenerational trauma is associated with measurable differences in executive functioning among members of the post-genocide generation whose parents are genocide survivors.