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Content Running head: INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA &
LEADERSHIP
1

Shattering the Glass Ceiling of Genocide:
Discovering the Role of the Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma and Resilience Among
Women in University Leadership Positions Who Are Descendants of Armenian Genocide
Survivors.

Christie Tcharkhoutian

A Dissertation Presented to the
Faculty of the USC Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Education
May 2019

INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 2
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank and acknowledge my committee for their invaluable guidance and
support throughout this process. To the chairman of my committee, Dr. David Cash, I would like
to thank you for your support, feedback, and unique insight into my research. The clarity and
insight you provided throughout this process have been indescribably meaningful and will
continue to be cherished throughout my professional and personal development. I have
especially valued the meaningful insight and expertise of narrative inquiry of Dr. Christy
Cooper. She embodies a resilient, Armenian female leader in the field of education, and your
insightful feedback and conceptualization throughout this process have inspired me in many
ways. A special thank you goes to to Dr. Rudy Castruita for his vast experience and expertise in
the field of education and leadership, which has truly benefitted my education and this
dissertation.
To the University of Southern California, thank you for creating a learning environment
that has supported and developed my personal and educational growth throughout my bachelor’s,
master’s, and doctoral degrees as a “triple Trojan.” The values of a true Trojan, faithful,
scholarly, skillful, ambitious, and courageous, are values I will continue to carry with me in my
future endeavors.
A heartfelt thank you to the participants of this study, who authentically and bravely
shared their stories. Your career and personal growth honors all those who have come before and
is an inspiration to all who will come after as the legacy of Armenian women in leadership
continues for generations to come.

INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 3

Dedication
“I should like to see any power of the world destroy this race…Let us say that it is
again 1915. There is war in the world. Destroy Armenia. See if you can do it. Send
them from their homes into the desert. Let them have neither bread nor water. Burn
their houses and their churches. See if they will not live again. See if they will not
laugh, sing and pray again. For when two of them meet anywhere in the world, see if
they will not create a New Armenia.” –William Saroyan

I would not be where I am without first, the support and guidance of Jesus Christ and the
support from my family, parents, and my sister whose unconditional love, support, and
encouragement has helped me throughout this entire process. Your understanding and support
with all the sacrifices I have made throughout this journey have helped me develop into the
researcher, scholar and, most importantly, person, I am today, and I cannot thank you enough for
believing in me.
I dedicate this research to my family, my ancestors, and all the survivors and victims of
the Armenian genocide. Their stories of unending resilience and unwavering faith after
unconscionable trauma are an inspiration of the human will to survive and ability to thrive. I
dedicate this research to my late grandfather (Medz Hayrig), an Armenian author who inspired
me to study the story of our ancestors through his writing. I especially dedicate this research to
the most recent female addition to my family, my niece Joelle. May she draw from the
inspiration of her ancestors and grow into an Armenian woman and leader whose path is forged
with the strength and resilience of her ancestors and her faith.

INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 4
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... 2
Dedication ....................................................................................................................................... 3
Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... 6
Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................... 7
Background of the Problem ........................................................................................................ 8
Statement of the Problem .......................................................................................................... 11
Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................................. 11
Research Questions ................................................................................................................... 12
Significance of the Study .......................................................................................................... 13
Limitations and Delimitations of the Study .............................................................................. 14
Definition of Terms ................................................................................................................... 14
Chapter 2: Literature Review ........................................................................................................ 17
History of Armenia ................................................................................................................... 18
History of the Armenian Genocide ........................................................................................... 19
Women in the Armenian Genocide ........................................................................................... 20
The Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide: A Comparative Analysis ................................... 21
Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma and Resilience ...................................................... 23
Minorities in Educational Leadership ....................................................................................... 24
Armenians in Educational Leadership ...................................................................................... 27
Armenian Women in Educational Leadership .......................................................................... 29
Leadership Styles ...................................................................................................................... 32
Leadership Styles of Minorities ................................................................................................ 33
Leadership Styles of Women .................................................................................................... 34
Chapter 3: Methods ....................................................................................................................... 39
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 39
Research Design ........................................................................................................................ 39
Sample & Selection Criteria ..................................................................................................... 41
Sampling Procedures ................................................................................................................ 43
Participants ................................................................................................................................ 43
Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................................. 43
Theory of Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma & Resilience ........................................ 43
Social Cognitive Career Theory ................................................................................................ 45
Bolman & Deal’s Four-Frame Theory ...................................................................................... 45
Transformational Leadership Theory ....................................................................................... 46
Data Collection ......................................................................................................................... 46
Instrumentation ......................................................................................................................... 47
Data Analysis ............................................................................................................................ 48
Ethical Considerations .............................................................................................................. 48
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 48
Chapter 4: Findings ....................................................................................................................... 49
Participants .................................................................................................................................... 52
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 5
Cindy ......................................................................................................................................... 52
Nancy ........................................................................................................................................ 54
Nina ........................................................................................................................................... 55
Renee ......................................................................................................................................... 57
Wendy ....................................................................................................................................... 59
Alice .......................................................................................................................................... 60
Amanda ..................................................................................................................................... 62
Themes .......................................................................................................................................... 64
Generational Trauma of Genocide ............................................................................................ 65
Trauma of Displacement ........................................................................................................... 69
Education as Survival ............................................................................................................... 73
Transformational Leadership: “To Lead, You Must Serve.” .................................................... 79
Chapter 5: Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 84
Summary of Study .................................................................................................................... 84
Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................................. 84
Research Questions ................................................................................................................... 85
Review of Methodology ........................................................................................................... 86
Major Findings .......................................................................................................................... 86
Findings Related to the Literature ............................................................................................. 88
Conclusions ................................................................................................................................... 91
Research Question 1 ................................................................................................................. 92
Research Question 2 ................................................................................................................. 93
Research Question 3 ................................................................................................................. 94
Research Question 4 ................................................................................................................. 95
Implications for Action ............................................................................................................. 95
Implementation of Mentorship ................................................................................................. 96
Implementation of leadership training programs ...................................................................... 96
Recommendations for Further Research ................................................................................... 97
Concluding Remarks ..................................................................................................................... 99
References ................................................................................................................................... 101
Appendix ..................................................................................................................................... 114

INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 6
Abstract
The study’s purpose is to uncover the role of the intergenerational transmission of trauma
and resilience on women in university leadership positions who are descendants of Armenian
genocide survivors. This study intended to explore the following questions: a) What role does
intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience play for women in university leadership
positions who are descendants of Armenian genocide survivors? b) What role does
intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience play in the leadership styles of women in
university leadership positions who are descendants of Armenian genocide survivors? c) What
barriers do women in university leadership positions who are descendants of Armenian genocide
survivors face due to the intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience? d) What
strategies do women in university leadership positions who are descendants of Armenian
genocide survivors employ to overcome obstacles resulting from intergenerational transmission
of trauma and resilience that affect achievement of leadership positions? This study used
narrative inquiry through qualitative interviews with women in university leadership positions
who were second- or third-generation descendants of Armenian genocide survivors.

INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 7
Chapter 1: Introduction
It is widely acknowledged in the field of education that women and individuals from
minority ethnic backgrounds are underrepresented in positions of university leadership. Despite
efforts from federal and state initiatives, new studies from the last several years demonstrate that
although women are being prepared for leadership positions through advanced education and
training at higher rates than their male counterparts are, women still do not hold as many
leadership or full-time faculty positions at the university level (“Office of Women,” 2003) as
men do. In addition, the lack of representation of ethnic minorities in positions of educational
leadership is significant, with less than 14% of college and university administrators from a
minority background (Bichsel & McChesney, 2017). Multiple factors have been thought to
contribute to this lack of representation, including lack of opportunity and issues related to work-
family balance and wage gap for women (Baran, 2012). A microcosm of this discrepancy can be
seen in the representation of Armenian women in educational leadership positions in universities
(Baran, 2012). A relevant component to consider is the underrepresentation of Armenian women
in university leadership positions. No researchers have yet studied this gap in representation.
Because of this, the exploration of the ways the intergenerational transmission of trauma and
resilience from ancestors is passed down through generations is significant, as it may uncover
obstacles for Armenian women in pursuit of leadership positions. This study focuses on the role
the intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience in the personal and professional lives
of Armenian women in university leadership positions and discovers the barriers they have faced
in achieving these goals along with the strategies employed to overcome these obstacles.

INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 8
Background of the Problem
Examining history provides an opportunity to recognize the patterns and effects of past
atrocities and informs prevention of the recurrences of these crimes against humanity in the
future. The 20th century included mass atrocities against humanity such as the Jewish Holocaust,
the genocides in Darfur, Rwanda, and what is considered the first genocide of the 20th century,
the Armenian genocide. The term genocide is defined as actions undertaken with the intent to
annihilate an entire national, ethnic, racial, or religious group (Bassiouni, 2008). The effects of
these crimes against humanity are evidenced in the descendants of the survivors in various ways.
The Armenian genocide began in 1915 in the Ottoman Empire. Approximately 1.5 million
Armenians were killed in a strategic attempt to remove Armenians from existence (Kaprielian-
Churchill, 1993). The genocide began with a strategic annihilation of Armenians who were
identified as “leaders” and “intellectuals” (Nazer, 1968). Of the survivors of the mass atrocities,
research estimates that 80% were women and children (Kaprielian-Churchill, 1993). The
psychological impact of the genocide on survivors and on their descendants can be inferred from
the effects that have been studied vis a vis Holocaust survivors (Kellermann, 1999). Armenian
history reflects the need to discover the impact of the Armenian genocide on culture today,
especially in regard to women, leaders, and educators and the rebuilding of Armenia leadership
throughout the past century (Kaprielian,-Churchill, 1993).
Although there is minimal research about the effects of genocide on survivors and
descendants of survivors of the Armenian genocide, the events of the 20th century that followed,
primarily the Holocaust, contributed to the development of the phenomenon known as the
intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience, initially developed through studying the
effects of trauma on descendants of Holocaust survivors over the span of more than 30 years
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 9
(Kellermann, 2007). Since the birth of the field of psychology in the 1800s, psychologists have
been searching for connections between the psycopathology of parents and its transmission of
traits and psychopathology to their children (Barocas & Barocas, 1973). Research has
demonstrated that trauma can be passed to a person’s children (Roden & Roden, 1982;
Kellerman, 2009; Danieli, 1998). After the Holocaust, psychological research focused on
examining the intergenerational effects of parents’ trauma and how many children developed
similar symptomology as that of their parents, despite not directly experiencing the trauma
(Barocas & Barocas, 1973). Research has demonstrated that the transmission of trauma between
generations does exist, with both biological and psychological effects (Yehuda et al., 1998;
Novac & Huber-Schneider, 1998). Research in the field of motivation has also shown that
traumatic stress affects several motivational constructs such as self-efficacy and self-esteem
(Simmen-Janevska, Brandstatter, & Maercker, 2012). Given this phenomenon of
transgenerational trauma affecting the mental health of descendants of trauma survivors, the
exploration of these trauma symptoms and how they affect one’s professional and personal
motivation is a relevant research topic. As such, it will be explored in this study, specifically
regarding Armenian women who are second- and third-generation descendants of Armenian
genocide survivors and in leadership positions in the field of education.
In reviewing current research, studies on Armenian women as a minority in countries
worldwide have not received a significant amount of exploration as their own entity. Rather, the
research that does exist examines Armenian women in relation to the majority culture
(Berberian, 2000). Additionally, the current research that has been conducted on Armenian
women has been directly tied to their primary cultural role of being mothers and has been
conducted outside the United States (Arevian, Noureddine & Abboud, 2011). Historical accounts
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 10
of the Armenian genocide indicate that the first stage of genocide was executed to annihilate men
and intellectuals, primarily because of their military training, education, and leadership in the
nationalist movement (Hovanisian, 1980). In this way, it was assumed that women, left
defenseless and alone with their children, would be easier to massacre and less likely to survive
(Peroomian, 2003). After the initial massacres, women were left to take responsibility for their
families and fight for survival in the face of enduring intense grief from losing their husbands
and their own lack of education and lack of military training and protection (Miller and Miller,
1993). Women faced difficult decisions of whether to convert to Islam or be killed, to migrate to
foreign countries, often surrendering children to orphanages (Miller & Miller, 1993). During the
summer months of 1915, thousands of women and child survivors were forced to walk through
the desert on what is now coined “the death marches,” without food, water, or clothing
(Hovanisian, 1980). They were brutally raped, tortured, drowned, sold as sex slaves, left to
abandon their children, and left with the guilt and shame of surviving when their husbands and
thousands they left behind did not (Peroomian, 2003).
These historical accounts of the resilience of the female survivors of the Armenian
genocide have been passed on throughout generations and contributed to the creation of an
Armenian culture of strong female leadership (Peroomian 2003). With nearly all survivors of the
genocide now deceased, the legacy of female leadership continues in the lives of the second and
third generation of descendants of these brave women. As research on the Holocaust has shown,
along with the transmission of this resilience and strength, the psychological burden to heal has
been passed down through generations as well (Peroomian, 2003).

INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 11
Statement of the Problem
There is a need for discovery in the field of intergenerational transmission of trauma and
resilience for descendants of the Armenian genocide. No previous research on this topic has been
conducted. This study will provide an understanding of the challenges women who are
descendants of Armenian genocide survivors face in pursuing career advancement and leadership
in education and in other domains and industries as well. Applying the concepts found in the
research on the intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience on descendants of
Holocaust survivors, this study will address the lack of research about descendants of Armenian
genocide survivors and explore how the specific role of the intergenerational trauma and
resilience relates to Armenian women in educational leadership positions. This will bring
awareness, understanding, and opportunities for overcoming potential challenges passed down
through future generations of descendants of Armenian genocide survivors.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to discover the role of intergenerational transmission of
trauma and resilience on women in university leadership positions who are descendants of
Armenian genocide survivors. This study seeks to uncover the experiences of these women
through an exploration of the signs of intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience
from their ancestors’ survival stories. The study will bring to light the role of the transmission of
the trauma of their ancestors on their personal and professional lives. It will help bring
understanding to the barriers these women overcame to reach levels of university leadership and
the strategies they employed in pursuing career advancement, despite the barriers the women
faced as multiple minorities: as women in educational leadership and as an ethnic minority—
Armenian—in educational leadership. Understanding the experiences of these women will help
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 12
shed light on the phenomenon of the intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience,
specifically on women in university leadership positions who are descendants of an Armenian
genocide survivor. This research will inform a little-known area of study and will provide other
women with similar minority identities knowledge on how to build resilience to overcome
obstacles and achieve their goals in leadership and career advancement despite the transmission
of trauma from ancestors who survived the Armenian genocide or other traumatic events.
Research Questions
I used the following research questions to guide the study:
1. What role does the intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience play for
women in university leadership positions who are descendants of Armenian genocide
survivors?
2. What role does the intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience play in the
leadership styles of women in university leadership positions who are descendants of
Armenian genocide survivors?
3. What barriers do women in university leadership positions who are descendants of
Armenian genocide survivors face due to the intergenerational transmission of trauma
and resilience?
4. What strategies do women in university leadership positions who are descendants of
Armenian genocide survivors employ to overcome obstacles resulting from
intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience that affect achievement of
leadership positions?

INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 13
Significance of the Study
The aim of this study is to discover the role of the intergenerational transmission of
trauma and resilience on women in university leadership positions who are descendants of
Armenian genocide survivors. This study will contribute new information about the role of
intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience in the personal and professional lives of
women in university leadership positions who are descendants of Armenian genocide survivors.
Moreover, this study will identify the challenges and reveal the strategies that help women in
university leadership positions who are descendants of Armenian genocide survivors overcome
challenges in pursuing leadership positions.
The findings from this study will be significant in uncovering multiple layers wherein
trauma and resilience have embedded themselves within women in university leadership
positions who are descendants of the Armenian genocide. The study will explore the relationship
between intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience and women’s pursuit of
university leadership, uncovering the resilience of these women in overcoming barriers
accompanying multiple minority identities as Armenians and as women in leadership positions.
The gap in representation of Armenian women in university leadership positions demonstrates
the need for future research in this area to provide insight into their experiences. Knowledge
about experiences of Armenian women in university leadership positions will help others who
are experiencing effects of transgenerational trauma undertake strategies to overcome these
trauma-related behaviors, habits, or lack of motivation that are impeding future growth and
leadership opportunities for women, personally and professionally.

INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 14
Limitations and Delimitations of the Study
This study was limited to women currently in university leadership positions who are
either second- or third-generation descendants of Armenian genocide survivors. The
generalizability of the findings of this study are limited because of a small sample size, as
Armenian women who are descendants of genocide survivors occupy a very small percentage of
women in university leadership positions in the population at large.
The delimitations of the study are as follows: the gender of the people in university
leadership positions (women), the location of the universities they work in (California), and the
number of women in university leadership positions interviewed. Because of the design of this
study, as a narrative inquiry exploration, the sample size is small and the details and richness of
the women’s experience is the focus of the study.
Definition of Terms
Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma and Resilience: The psychological term
used to describe the event in which symptoms and traits characteristic of trauma
experienced by one individual and generation can be passed down through generations,
biologically, psychologically, and socioemotionally (Kellermann, 2009).
Glass Ceiling: A phrase used to represent an invisible barrier that keeps a given

demographic (women, minorities) from rising beyond a certain level of leadership

(Federal Glass Ceiling Commission, 1995).

Armenian Genocide: The systematic extermination of 1.5 Armenians by the Ottoman
Empire at the start of World War I, beginning in April 1915 (Fisk, 2005).
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 15
Ottoman Empire: Known as the Turkish Empire, which controlled southeastern Europe,
such as Turkey during the 14th & 20th centuries and committed genocide against
Armenians at the beginning of World War I (Finkel, 2007).
Holocaust: Genocide during World War II in which Adolf Hitler led Nazi Germany to
murder six million European Jews and members of other ethnic groups and minority
populations (Yad Vashem, 2015).
Trauma: The interaction between an event and the biological, emotional, and
psychological response to this event that overwhelms the ordinary human adaptations to
life, involving threat to life, bodily integrity, or a close personal encounter with violence
and death. Trauma confronts human beings with the extremities of helplessness and terror
and evokes the responses of catastrophes and can overwhelm the ordinary systems of care
that give people a sense of control, connection, and meaning (Herman, 1992).
Transmission of Trauma: Trauma that is transferred from the first generation of trauma

survivors to the second and further generations of survivors’ offspring (Fossion et

al., 2003).

Hypervigilance: A symptom of post-traumatic stress disorder that includes an enhanced
state of sensory sensitivity with exaggerated intensity of behaviors whose purpose is to
detect activity. Often results in increased anxiety, high responsiveness to stimuli, and
arousal.
Resilience: The process of adaptation in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, threats, or
stress (“The Road to Resilience”, n.d.).
Descendants: Those who have descended from ancestor or race, who have issued from
an individual including children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 16
Barrier: An obstacle, systemically, organizationally, or internally impeding the pursuit
of a career goal.
University Leadership: A leadership position held within a university organization or
department.
Work-Family Balance: “The demands and responsibilities of dual roles as professionals
and homemakers that include gender stereotypes and making choices in professional
compromises and personal sacrifices” (Baran, 2012, vii).
Ethnic Minorities: Individuals who belong to an ethnic group that is a relatively small
part of the population (“Ethnic Minority”, n.d.).
Career advancement: The upward trajectory of an individual’s career, often represented
by a promotion.

INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 17
Chapter 2: Literature Review
The role of the intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience has been
significant in understanding the ways genocide and the meaning made from the traumas
experienced, plays a role in the lives of the descendants of survivors. The research on this
phenomenon has been conducted primarily on descendants of Holocaust survivors. Given that
the term “genocide” was not even defined until after the Armenian genocide had occurred,
applying the concepts and discovering the similarities will provide profound implications for the
ways that intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience have affected descendants of
Armenian genocide with respect to gender and career advancement in the field of education.
In this chapter, I will provide historical context to the Armenian genocide, detailing the
series of events and highlighting the aspects of genocide around gender, education, and
leadership. Then, I will define intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience and
describe effects found on Holocaust survivors and draw similarities to descendants of the
Armenian genocide, applying similar concepts to the specific group of Armenian women in
educational leadership. Although not a great deal of research has been conducted about this
specific population, I will explore the connections between minorities in educational leadership
and women in educational leadership and connect potential implications of these findings for
Armenian women in leadership positions in higher education. I will also review the extant
literature on leadership styles and barriers women and minorities have faced in career
advancement, specifically examining how the transmission of trauma and resilience interacts
with these preexisting barriers for Armenian women in leadership positions in higher education
who have overcome multiple barriers to achieve career advancement.

INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 18
History of Armenia
The history of Armenia as a civilization is essential to understanding the context of the
struggles that Armenians have faced historically and the resilience they have drawn upon to
persevere through trauma, individually and collectively. Armenia is one of the oldest nations in
the world (Nazer, 1968), deeply rooted in its culture, traditions, and faith for the past 3,000 years.
Its people, across the world, still value their Armenian culture and heritage as essential to their
identity (Herzig & Kurkichiyan, 2005).
Armenia was founded with the victory of their hero Haik who defeated the king of
Babylon in the third millennium BCE (Nazer, 1968). Of Indo-European descent, Armenia is
considered the first Christian nation, whose faith informed and sustained much of their values,
lifestyle, and heritage (Hovanisian, 1997). After migrating from Asia to Europe, they settled in
the region of Mt. Ararat in the 8th century BCE and expanded their territory from there (Nazer,
1968). Because of the quality of land, abundance of natural resources, and geographically
desirable location of Armenia, the nation was frequently coveted by neighboring world powers,
often resulting in war and unrest (Herzig & Kurkichiyan, 2005; Nazer, 1968).
In the Peace Treaty of Amasya signed in 1555, Armenia came under rule of the Ottoman
Empire, which divided Armenia into western and eastern regions, where most of the Armenians
lived in small regions known as “millets” in Eastern Armenia, neighboring present-day Turkey
(Herzig & Kurkichiyan, 2005). Armenians were treated as second-class citizens, with unequal
rights and wages, and they faced religious and ethnic persecution in the mid-1800s (Herzig &
Kurkichiyan, 2005). With the oppression against Armenians rising, Great Britain, France, and
Russia proposed and supported reforms for equal treatment of Armenians in the Ottoman
Empire, questioning the empire’s treatment of Armenians. These reforms, though passed, were
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 19
unsuccessful in being enforced (Hovanisian, 1997). This continued persecution and unfair
treatment resulted in the rise of Armenian nationalism, and educated leaders resisted and fought
against this unfair treatment (Hovanisian, 1997). The significance of education, leadership, and
opposing injustice is found interwoven in the fabric of the Armenian story. These elements have
been fundamental values for Armenian people from the third millennium BCE until today.
History of the Armenian Genocide
Although the term “genocide” was not coined until long after the Armenian genocide
took place in 1915, scholars look back at the systematic extermination of Armenians as the first
genocide in the 20th century with profound effects on the survivors of the genocide, their
descendants, and the culture as a whole (Hovanisian 1997). Understanding the systematic
strategy of genocide is essential to grasping the profound disempowerment of its victims and
descendants of survivors for future generations.
As a response to the rise of Armenian nationalism and protest of unfair treatment of
Armenians as a people, and as Christians, the Ottoman Empire carried out a series of massacres
of the Armenian people, now known as “the Hamidian Massacres,” starting in the mid-1890s
(Cooper & Akcam, 2005). As WWI began in 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Triple
Alliance as a cover for continued massacres of Armenians (Balakian, 2004). As persecution
intensified, the rise of Armenian intellectuals speaking out against the persecution of Armenian
Christians did as well, and by 1914, the Ottoman Empire had created propaganda claiming that
Armenians were a threat to peace in Turkey (Dadrian, 1995).
The killing of hundreds of Armenian intellectuals on April 24, 1915, marked “Red
Sunday” and is now considered the first act of genocide (Balakian, 2004). Through publicly
massacring educational leaders first, the leaders of the Ottoman Empire attempted to disempower
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 20
the Armenian people and dismantle their leadership and efforts toward equality. Targeting
educated leaders as the first act of extermination of an entire group is an event in Armenian
history with profound implications for the future generations; it also begs the question of
cultural beliefs about leadership and education were passed on to future generations.
In May 1915, the Young Turks nationalist party ordered a law of deportation, resulting in
the nationalization of Armenian property by the Ottoman Empire, the slaughter of Armenians,
and the mass killing and starvation of the Armenians. Theodore Roosevelt later called this “the
greatest crime of the war” (Ayvazian, 2002). The systematic extermination of Armenians
included acts of rape, sexual slavery, and mass murder through concentration camps (Balakian,
2004). Other methods of torture toward the extermination of Armenians included burning,
drowning, morphine, and death by toxic gas (Dadrian, 1995). Survivors of such mass atrocities
of genocide passed on their experiences through oral tradition to future generations, supporting
the cultural value of education and remembrance of the Armenian genocide (Ayvazian, 2002).
Women in the Armenian Genocide
In both studies of the Holocaust and the Armenian genocide, there is a gap in the
literature in terms of the role gender plays in genocide studies. Prior to the 1915 genocide, more
than 2,000,000 Armenians lived in Turkey; an estimated 1.5 million—three out of four Armenian
citizens—perished (Balakian, 2004). Of the survivors of the mass atrocities, research estimates
that 80% were women and children (Kaprielian-Churchill, 1993). Women’s experiences during
the deportations were far different from men’s. As men were killed earlier on, women were left
alone with children to suffer along the deportation routes and were victims of extreme sexual
violence, were raped, were sexually assaulted, and were tasked to care for their children and
make the best, often difficult decisions for their families (Derderian, 2005). Many women were
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 21
sold as sex slaves, and many chose to commit suicide by throwing themselves into the Euphrates
River to avoid being raped or brutally murdered (Miller & Miller, 1993).
Women demonstrated strength and resilience in stepping into the leadership roles after
their husbands were murdered, doing what was needed to help their families survive and escape.
In what had been a mostly patriarchal society up until this point in their cultural history,
Armenian women suddenly found themselves as the head of their families, the protectors,
providers, and leaders, negotiating their well-being and the survival of their families with the
enemies. They fought to preserve their cultural traditions, faith, and identity in spite of making
difficult decisions to separate families or convert to Islam, all while many suffered the shame of
such denial of faith. They asserted they kept their faith secretly but made these difficult ethical
decisions for the sake of their families’ survival (Hovanassian, 2003). The legacy of the women
who survived the Armenian genocide has been woven into the qualities of Armenian women that
have contributed to the legacy of female leadership among the descendants of Armenian
genocide survivors.
The Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide: A Comparative Analysis
The first genocide of the 20th century, the Armenian genocide, was not considered
genocide at all until after the Holocaust had occurred. Only then were the parallels between the
Armenian genocide and the Holocaust drawn and the term “genocide” coined to describe the
annihilation, torture, and attempt at extermination of the Armenian people (Melson, 1992). In the
historical study of both the Armenian genocide and the Holocaust, there are apparent differences
and similarities between the ways each were carried out. The effects of genocide for survivors
and descendants are similar. In the same way that the Jewish people struggled to maintain their
cultural identity after the Holocaust, descendants of Armenian genocide survivors struggled to
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 22
maintain their collective cultural identity after the genocide and the exodus from Armenia and
Turkey and into the diaspora (Peroomian, 2003).
Although research has not been thoroughly conducted on the descendants of Armenian
genocide, similar patterns of behavior are noticeable in Armenians and Jews. Similar to the
Holocaust, the traumatic experiences of the genocide made it difficult to live fully functioning
lives without emotional distress (Kalayjian & Weisberg, 2002). Armenians carried the emotional
trauma from the genocide as they migrated throughout the diaspora. They lacked the opportunity
to fully process the grief, loss, and horrible tragedies they had witnessed, as they had to focus on
moving forward and building a new future in a new place for their families (Kalayjian &
Weisberg, 2002; Peroomian, 2003). Similar to what Jews experienced after the Holocaust, the
shared identity and allegiance to culture strengthened through the Armenians’ migration process.
Additionally, the impact of cultural trauma is strengthened for people and groups that strongly
associate with their cultural identity. Armenians have and continue to experience a cultural
trauma that is continuously unrecognized by many world governments. Thus, the connection to
their cultural identity and the emotional effects of knowing the experience of their ancestors is an
extremely painful burden to carry.
The descendants of Armenian genocide survivors have a different experience than that of
descendants of Holocaust survivors because Armenians did not receive the same recognition and
reparations that many descendants of Holocaust survivors did, although not all (Cooper &
Akcam, 2005; Pezeshkian, 2011). In this way, Armenian culture and its people have been deeply
affected by the entire narrative of denial of genocide, rather than the actual suffering and
genocide itself in contrast with the descendants of Holocaust survivors who are able to now
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 23
focus more on the experience of the survivors and the victims (Kalayjian & Weisberg, 2002;
Peroomian, 2003; Hovanisian, 1997).
Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma and Resilience
Although not clearly defined, historical trauma is the concept that effects of trauma affect
a large group of people at a particular point in their cultural history. For the Armenian people,
the mass trauma experienced from the genocide has left descendants with cultural beliefs that
have resulted from historical trauma (Hovanisian, 1997). The definition of the intergenerational
transmission of trauma and resilience is the effects of trauma transmitted from the generation that
experiences it to their children, grandchildren, and subsequent generations (Danieli, 1998;
Kellermann, 2001). Intergenerational transmission of trauma pertains to the notion that an
individual is able to transfer residues of an experienced trauma to a family member, even though
the inheriting individual has been unexposed to the direct trauma (Weingarten, 2004).
This concept originated and developed in an effort to discover the effects of trauma on
subsequent generations of Holocaust survivors, if any existed. Effects on children depended on
the ways that the mothers interacted with their children about the experiences (Wiseman, Barber,
Raz, Yam, Foltz, & Livne-Snir, 2003). Parents who were survivors and their children engaged in
what is now termed as the “conspiracy of silence” for parents who did not want to talk about
their experiences during the Holocaust (Danieli, 1998). They demonstrated the desire to forget
the trauma and to protect children from it (Danieli, 1998). Descendants do not necessarily suffer
the same psychopathology (PTSD) as survivors do but rather had certain tendencies and traits
that resemble one another (Kestenberg, 1982).
Vogel (1994) explained a female’s connection to her mother in the self-in-relation model,
discovering that females were more likely to adopt the trauma-related symptoms of their mothers
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 24
because they feel a stronger connection to their mothers, using them to define self-worth more so
than males do (Vogel, 1994). A study conducted with Israeli soldiers showed that when
compared with parents of those who survived the Holocaust, the soldiers’ manifested trauma
symptoms were similar to those of their survivor parents (Solomon, 1990). Children of survivors
reported seeking to protect parents from being upset or experiencing negative emotions
(Wiseman & Barber, 2008). They also reported increased levels of psychological distress when
dealing with their own trauma, such as those individuals studied who were suffering from breast
cancer (Baider et al., 2000). Finally, challenges in family functioning are revealed through
exaggerated dependence on or exaggerated independence from the family system and intimate
relationships (Kellermann, 1999).
Upon the development and research on the theory of intergenerational transmission of
trauma and resilience, a question of legitimacy of whether the phenomenon existed began
(Felsen, 1998). Descendants of survivors felt that if they admitted that symptoms mimicking
intergenerational trauma existed for them, this would somehow lessen the victory of their parents
who were survivors (Danieli, 1998). The way that the Holocaust was spoken about by survivors’
children affected interpersonal relationships (Kellermann, 1999).
Minorities in Educational Leadership
Leadership is a new field of study, with research on the construct beginning in the late
20th century (Yukl, 1981). As such, little research has been conducted on the area of women and
minorities in leadership (Bass, 1981), and researchers operated under the assumption that their
findings applied to people, regardless of gender and racial factors (Banks & McGee, 1989). In
the 1970s, the gap in representation of women and minorities in educational leadership was so
noticeable that the National Institute of Education was mandated to increase participation and
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 25
opportunities for the research and leadership development of women and minorities (Diener &
Owens, 1984). Research in industry indicates that diversity benefits the bottom line. Diverse
companies and institutions are more successful than those that are not diverse. In fact, gender-
diverse companies are 15% more likely to outperform their peers, and ethnically diverse
companies are 35% more likely to outperform their peers. The support of minorities in leadership
positions helps institutions optimally develop employees from diverse backgrounds and nurture
their talents in meaningful ways, beneficial for the organization.
Ethnic minorities tend to adopt a nurturing, inclusive, dynamic, engaging, and inspiring
leadership style known as “transformational leadership”(Ardichvili, Mitchell, & Jondle, 2009).
The increase of minority representation in leadership will improve the potential for harnessing
the strengths of the increasing number of employees of minority backgrounds to assist the
improvement of the organization in achieving its goals (Gundemir et al., 2017). Institutions are
responsible for ensuring that the opportunities for adequate leadership training are available to
women and minorities to set them up for success in leadership endeavors (Hornsby, Morro-
Jones, & Ballam, 2012; Niemeier & Gonzalez, 2004).
In spite of recent improvements in closing the gap of representation for women and
minorities in higher leadership positions, these populations continue to be the minority in
leadership positions in higher education (Niemeier & Gonzalez, 2004). Women reportedly feel
like outsiders in academic organizations in higher education and feel as though the environments
are not welcoming (MIT Committee on Women Faculty, 1999; Niemeier & Gonzalez, 2004;
West & Curtis, 2006). With overwhelming tasks of creating a positive company culture, women
are at a disadvantage in leading such departments when they personally have not felt unwelcome
in the workplace (West & Curtis, 2006).
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 26
The environment of the organization also affects the perceptions of employees and
whether they feel capable and supported in pursuing leadership roles (Denison, 1996; Walton &
Cohen, 2011). Additionally, minorities with a strong sense of cultural identity feel supported
when the organizational climate of the institution is open and supportive of diversity, evidenced
in the heterogeneity of their employees and leaders (Denison, 1996; Dovidio et al., 2008). By
valuing individuals and personal needs, organizations demonstrate openness and willingness to
operate with an open climate, where differences of opinion, background, and personality are
welcome and valued (Bergsieker et al., 2010). Through valuing diversity in an organizational
climate, the personal internal barriers that minorities perceive in pursuing leadership positions
are decreased, increasing minorities’ work ethic, motivation, and ability, which in turn supports
them in continued career advancement and into leadership roles (Shnabel & Nadler, 2015;
Bergsieker et al., 2010). In organizations that support multiculturalism, employees felt better
equipped at fulfilling higher leadership roles successfully, were more optimistic about their
ability to achieve these goals, and were more enthusiastic about pursuing leadership positions
(Bergsieker et al., 2010). Additional ways of directly improving minorities’ interests and ability
to achieve leadership positions include educating and training minorities through challenging
perceptions and goals that may be negative or averse to pursuing career advancement.
This aforementioned research serves as a useful background to my study. The
organizational climate of academic institutions is an important factor to consider in the
experiences of Armenian women in university leadership position that are descendants of the
Armenian genocide because of the intersection of an organization’s climate and the impact of
trauma on cultural beliefs of acceptance, value, and diversity.

INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 27
Armenians in Educational Leadership
The Armenian culture’s value on education has supported the career trajectory of many
Armenians in pursuing careers in education. Because of the strong emphasis placed on education
throughout the historical narrative of the Armenian people, education is a cultural value that
represents status, honor, intelligence, and service to the community (Wiseman & Barber, 2008).
In addition, the pursuit of education as a career reflects the importance placed on educating
Armenians and others about the genocide (Hovanisian, 1997; Manoogian, Walker, Richards, &
Leslie, 2007; Wiseman & Barber, 2008). Knowledge about the genocide is considered an
important, if not necessary, value of the culture to pass on to future generations and to educate
both Armenians and non-Armenians about the trauma Armenians experienced and the inspiring
stories of their resilience and survival.
The history of the Armenian people has been preserved through oral tradition, passing
down knowledge from ancestors and survivors of the Armenian genocide (Manoogian, Walker,
Richards, & Leslie, 2007). Additionally, the financial destitution of the survivors of genocide left
second- and third-generation descendants of survivors with a strong desire to succeed.
Armenians believed that education is the key to success because, although through the genocide
they lost everything, they did not lose their education. Education was viewed as the foundation
from which the Armenian people could rebuild and become successful again (Felsen, 1998). The
expectation and hope for renewal and rebuilding after genocide was placed on children of
Armenian genocide survivors who were encouraged to succeed and earn back what was lost
during the genocide (Felsen, 1998; Hovanisian, 1997; Bakalian, 1993). The additional pressure
of fleeing Armenia and becoming refugees in other countries intensified the value of education
as a necessary tool for advancement and overcoming the barriers of a history of traumatic
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 28
experiences and of being minorities in the countries they fled to (Bakalian, 1993; Manoogian,
Walker, Richards, & Leslie, 2007).
When exploring the effect of the Armenian genocide on Armenians in the United States,
it is important to consider the role of education for Armenians interacting with the Western
ideals and view of success in the United States. A large number of Armenians who had moved to
the United States after World War II highly valued education and made sure their children had
some college education (Bakalian, 1993). As Malcolm (1910) pointed out, Armenian parents, no
matter how scarce their resources are, give the utmost importance to the education of their
children. He further recalled the words of Gordon Browne, who once said, “The Armenian
passion for education is astonishing. There is probably no people in the world who will make
such sacrifice for this object” (Malcolm, 1910, p. 107).
A study of Armenians in the Los Angeles area by Phinney, Ong, and Madden (2000) was
conducted by sampling 197 Armenians. It showed that only 8.3% were unskilled workers or
individuals with little education beyond high school (Ayvazian, 1996). The skilled workers with
some secondary education composed 23.3% of the sample population, whereas 44% were white-
collar workers or individuals with some college education. The remaining 24.4% were
professional workers with college or graduate education. That leads to the conclusion that 68.4%
of the sample population had some college education and also portrayed the importance of
education for Armenians, a majority of whom pursue higher education (Ayvazian, 1996). This
emphasis on education for Armenian Americans is further highlighted by the fact that 23% of
Armenian Americans in the United States have completed an advanced degree, a large
percentage when compared with other minority and immigrant groups (Ayvazian, 1996). The
influential role of education on the narrative of the Armenian people and survivors of genocide is
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 29
essential in understanding more about the role of Armenian women in educational leadership
(Ayvazian, 1996; Malcom, 1910; Phinney, Ong, & Madden, 2000).
Armenian Women in Educational Leadership
Because of the limitations of existing research about educational leadership, researchers
have focused on issues of gender or race exclusively and not on the interaction of the two (Banks
& McGee, 1989). This theme in existing research creates a gap in the literature when exploring
women from ethnic minority backgrounds (McCarthy & Crichlow, 1993; Banks & McGee,
1989), lacking the perspective of integration and viewing these women as only one identity or
the other—only taking in account their identity as women or their cultural identity (Dugger,
1991; Pinar, 1993). A shift in research tactics is necessary to understand the nuances of being a
woman from an ethnic minority background in educational leadership positions (Banks &
McGee, 1989; Pinar, 1993). The smaller the number of women or minorities in educational
leadership positions, the more representative each individual becomes of his or her ethnic or
gender group (Banks & McGee, 1989).
Multiple factors have been considered as contributing to this lack of representation,
including lack of opportunity and issues concerning work-family balance and unequal pay for
women (Baran, 2012; McCarthy & Crichlow, 1993; Banks & McGee, 1989). All these factors
have also been considered as affecting Armenian women in their pursuit of educational
leadership positions (Baran, 2012; Peroomian, 2003). For Armenian women pursuing
educational leadership roles, historical accounts of the resilience of female survivors of the
Armenian genocide are important to consider how they have contributed to the creation of an
Armenian culture of strong female leadership, (Peroomian 2003; Baran, 2012). Although
education is a cultural value, and advanced degrees are encouraged among Armenian women, the
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 30
independence and individuation that comes with pursuing education is discouraged and less
desirable in the collectivistic norms within Armenian culture (Ayvazian, 1996). As a historically
patriarchal society, men within the Armenian culture are often viewed as the primary decision-
maker and provider, whereas the traditional gender role for women is to care for the household
(Ayvazian, 1996).
The interaction between traditional gender roles and intergenerational transmission of
trauma create additional internal barriers for Armenian women interested in pursuing potential
leadership positions in education (Ayvazian, 1996; Baran, 2012; Peroomian, 2003). Research on
descendants of Holocaust survivors has revealed the biological, psychological, and emotional
repercussions of genocide (Kellermann, 2009; Nadler et al., 1985, Yehuda et al., 1998). Based on
research conducted on descendants of Holocaust survivors, children and grandchildren of
survivors of genocide have lower levels of cortisol, which increases their sensitivity to stressful
situations (Yehuda et al., 1998). Research on psychosocial functioning of descendants of
Holocaust survivors revealed that they were less likely to express and verbalize anger and
aggression, due to the need and desire to please parents and prevent them from experiencing pain
(Kellermann, 2001; Yehuda et al., 1998). Additionally, descendants of Holocaust survivors were
often unable to develop the appropriate psychological tools to discuss negative emotions openly
and would generally avoid confrontation, displaying mostly conflict avoidant behaviors within
the family and outside of the family unit (Nadler et al., 1985).
In light of the similarities between the traumatic experiences of survivors of both the
Holocaust and the Armenian genocide, and the experiences of their descendants, similar findings
and trends from this study can be transferred to understanding descendants of the Armenian
genocide, although specific research on intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 31
for this population has not yet been conducted (Manoogian et al., 2007; Peroomian, 2003).
Armenian women felt the responsibility to pass on legacies to younger generations, which often
conflicted with the pressure to assimilate to Western cultures after immigrating to the United
States (Manoogian et al., 2007).
The psychosocial development of Armenian women throughout the lifespan is also
important to consider when investigating the effects of the intergenerational transmission of
trauma and resilience and how this transmission has manifested through the different stages of
development in youth, adolescence, and adulthood (Esmaeli, 2011; Manoogian et al., 2007).
Armenian women are primarily exposed to the story of their ancestors between the ages of 6 and
13 (Esmaeli, 2011), and participants placed high emphasis on going to Armenian churches,
speaking Armenian, and marrying within Armenian culture.
In the same way that survivors of the Holocaust and their descendants often exhibited
symptoms of low self-esteem (Kellermann, 2001), self-esteem for descendants of the Armenian
genocide may also be affected by the intergenerational transmission of trauma and interact with
the way that self-esteem affects women in the workplace (Esmaeli, 2011; Kellermann, 2001).
Similar to the Holocaust accounts (Adelman, 1995), narratives of traumatic memories from the
Armenian genocide were transmitted from mothers and daughters. Daughters of Holocaust
survivors were angry at the silence and lack of sharing, contributing to feeling abandoned, lost,
and angry (Adelman, 1995). This reflects the experience of many descendants Armenian
genocide survivors along with those who experienced the negative effects of “the conspiracy of
silence” of their ancestors (Danieli, 1998).
A common effect of cultural mass trauma is the need for the victimized group to identify
social allies and enemies and to keep physical and social boundaries separating allies from the
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 32
enemies (Volkan, 1998). Volkan (2001) explained that past traumatic events are used to unite a
group’s identity, often to the extent of blurring past and present and speaking of the trauma as
though it had just happened. Therefore, even though the traumatic event may have taken place
generations ago, new conflicts may trigger an intense and automatic reaction because it is
connected with the trauma to which members of the current generation have identified with
(Casoni & Brunet, 2007).
As the current climate of educational leadership has revealed, it has become more
necessary now than ever for leaders to harness the power of resilience in overcoming challenges
to establishing a supportive company culture. In this way, Armenian women in educational
leadership positions are able to connect to the resilience of their ancestors through awareness of
the cultural narrative, the traumas experienced, and the knowledge of their stories of survival
(Ayvazian, 2002; Casoni & Brunet, 2007; Volkan, 1998).
Leadership Styles
The social cognitive career theory suggests that leadership styles are developed through
an individual’s experience with the dynamic between the personal, cognitive, and contextual
factors that compose an individual’s career path (Bandura, 1986; Gundemir et al., 2017). In
consideration of how the cultural factors of the intergenerational transmission of trauma and
resilience influence Armenian women’s leadership style, it is important to view this through the
lens of understanding how these factors intersect and affect one’s career position, role, and style
(Baran, 2012; Gundemir et al., 2017).
As Bolman and Deal (2013) suggested in their research on leadership styles, leaders in
organizations employed varying types of leadership styles: structural, human resource, political,
and symbolic. Transformational leadership is one that draws upon personal values to promote
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 33
positive and inspirational change throughout an organization, through modeling, connection to
the mission, and focus on personal development (Burns, 1978). A transformational leader uses
psychological mechanisms of motivation, idealization, and intellectual inspiration to help
promote behavior that will benefit the organization as a whole to move forward toward positive
change (Bass & Aviolo, 1994).
Autocratic leaders are those who are more directive and discouraging toward
participatory decision-making, whereas democratic managers believe in collaboratively allowing
decision-making to occur both at the leader and employee level (Eagly & Johnson, 1990).
Although democratic leadership styles are favored by employees more than autocratic leadership
styles are, when autocratic leadership styles are used by women, they are rated less favorable
than are the men who use the same autocratic leadership (Luthar, 1996).
Relations-oriented leadership puts a priority on the quality of relationship between leader
and followers. Task-oriented leadership focuses more so on the tasks that the followers
accomplish (Bass, 1990; Brown, 2003). Although relations-oriented leaders use collaboration
and focus on building trust and empathy, task-oriented leaders focus on goal-orientation and
productivity (Bass, 1990; Misumi & Peterson, 1985; Zaleznik, 1977). Although specific research
about the leadership styles of Armenian women in educational leadership roles has not been
conducted, the aspects of leadership identity when seen through the lens of multiculturalism
suggest that the identity of Armenian women in educational leadership positions connects to the
experiences of minorities in leadership positions (Bass, 1990; Eagly & Johnson, 1990).
Leadership Styles of Minorities
Ethnic minorities tend to adopt a nurturing, inclusive, dynamic, engaging, and inspiring
leadership style known as “transformational leadership” (Ardichvili, Mitchell, & Jondle, 2009).
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 34
Although minorities and women hold fewer university president positions (15%) than do white
males (85%), women and minorities are able to achieve career advancement at a faster rate than
their white male counterparts are (Wallace & Kaiser, 2017). The increased rates of women
receiving graduate degrees may contribute to this rise in university leadership, as it is a
requirement for advancement (Wallace & Kaiser, 2017).
During the past half-century in higher education, women and minorities have gained
influence in leadership positions largely in two-year colleges, non-tenure-track (NTT) units, or
service programs (Hogan & Hogan, 1994). Across institutions, women fill only 30% of chief
academic officer positions at 4-year colleges and 25% of college presidencies (Wallace &
Kaiser, 2017) The lack of female leaders is even more notable because women have long
constituted over half of college graduates, more than half of PhDs, and almost half of those
entering faculty positions (Eddy, Ward & Khwaja, 2017). Yet women constitute just 42% of all
associate professors, and only 29 percent of those promoted to full professor (Eddy, Ward &
Khwaja, 2017).
Women, particularly women of color, experience pathways to leadership as a labyrinth
because of the “diverse challenges” they face (Sanchez-Hucles & Davis, 2010, p.172). For
minorities and women, finding their way through this maze to career advancement and
leadership within their career trajectory, includes creating systems of support and collaboration,
finding mentorship and strategies to connect with communities to find success (Eagly & Carli,
2001).
Leadership Styles of Women
Women in educational leadership positions have been successful due to their ability to
draw on strengths and utilize their leadership style to bring productivity, inspiration and a
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 35
person-centered approach to their team (Rosser, 2001). Research on women in leadership
suggests that they typically exemplify qualities of transformational and people-oriented
leadership styles (Maseko & Proches 2013). The lack of representation of women in leadership
positions may be related to the variances in leadership styles between men and women (Eagly,
Johannesen-Schmidt, & van Engen, 2003).
Compared with men, women leaders tend to employ person-centered, democratic rather
than autocratic, relationship-oriented rather than task-oriented, and transformational leadership
styles than do men (Eagly, Johannesen-Schmidt, & van Engen, 2003). However, in organizations
that were male-dominated, there were not significant differences between men and women’s
leadership styles, perhaps due to women’s need to adapt leadership styles to fit male-dominated
norms and prove their leadership capabilities (Cuadrado et al., 2012; García-Retamero & López-
Zafra, 2006). Women’s ability to adapt their leadership styles to fit the organizations in which
they seek career advancement reflects little to no differences between men and women’s
leadership styles (Eagly & Johnson, 1990). Although inspirational leadership styles are found to
be most effective, women must incorporate both strength and sensitivity to overcome stereotypes
when male leaders only need to demonstrate strength (Vinkenburg et al., 2011).
Women who are unwilling or unable to break out of traditional gender roles create an
additional internal barrier in their efforts toward receiving leadership positions at a similar rate as
their male colleagues do (Eagly & Carli, 2007). The pressure to conform to gender-stereotyped
leadership styles is a source of additional stress for women in leadership positions in male-
dominated organizations because of the need to shift from gender-normative feminine styles to
masculine styles of leadership, which may feel inauthentic (Gardiner & Tiggemann, 1999).
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 36
Role theory has found that women’s response to gender-role expectations includes
internalization of low self-esteem and fear of failure (Horner, 1987; Banks & McGee, 1989;
O’Leary & Flanagan, 2001). Because of the limited number of women in educational leadership
positions, women draw additional attention to their role, and the performance pressure increases
(Kanter 1977; Banks & McGee, 1989). Despite efforts from federal and state initiatives, new
studies from the last several years demonstrate that although women are being prepared for
leadership positions through advanced education and training, at higher rates than their male
counterparts are, women still do not hold as many leadership or full-time faculty positions at the
university level as men do (ACE, 2016). Because Armenian women are likely to exhibit human
resource and transformational leadership styles as women and minorities, they have the potential
to contribute valuable and unique perspectives to organizations that would benefit from this
perspective (ACE, 2016; Gardiner & Tiggemann, 1999; (Eagly & Carli, 2007).
Overcoming Obstacles to Educational Leadership
Research has revealed that the negative effects of role conflict for women in educational
leadership positions is significantly diminished when minorities and women focus on the
characteristics of their leadership position and when they build upon resilience in the face of
multiple and conflicting expectations (Banks & McGee, 1989). In this way, Armenian women’s
experience of drawing upon resilience from their cultural narrative and from the role women in
their history have played would be considered a strength, fostering their ability to overcome
obstacles to achieve career advancement and goals (Ayvazian, 2002).
Similar to what is found in other organizations and institutions, women are largely
underrepresented in positions of leadership in higher education (Baumgartner & Schneider,
2010). Trends in the corporate world suggest that even if women advance to leadership positions,
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 37
they are mostly in mid-level management positions and not executive leadership positions
(Bartol, Martin, & Kromkowski, 2003).
Research in the field of academic leadership for women suggests that possible barriers to
women in leadership roles include lack of development of leadership skills for women (Acker,
2010). Patterns of gender bias have resulted in a lack of valuing women’s skill sets and in the
marginalization in the area of academic leadership (Carnes et al., 2008). Barriers to women
pursuing leadership positions in higher education include environmental and intrinsic factors
(Ely & Rhode, 2010). Barriers in women’s ambition to seek leadership roles include the inability
for women to have flexible work-life balance opportunities, thereby being forced to choose
family or career advancement (Schwanke, 2013). The psychological experience of women
feeling undervalued and unwelcomed in academic leadership positions may also contribute to
institutional barriers keeping them from pursuing and achieving leadership positions (Bailyn,
2003; Schwanke, 2013). Additionally, within-institution barriers, such as not being afforded the
same opportunities, also prevent women from feeling accepted, valued, and capable of being
successful in leadership roles because they were not afforded the same opportunities to develop
necessary leadership skills (Hornsby, Morrow-Jones, & Ballam, 2012).
The internal barriers of self-efficacy, perceptions about job readiness, and feeling
qualified for positions affect their ability to advance in their careers (Sperandio, 2015). Women
aspiring to educational leadership roles face external barriers such as career advancement
culture, a gender gap, lack of flexible working hours and mentoring, and difficulties with work-
life balance (Sperandio, 2015). Certain programs implementing leadership-training interventions
suggest that change must occur on an institutional level (Diener & Owens, 1984; Hornsby,
Morrow-Jones, & Ballam, 2012). When environments in which feminine traits are valued as
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 38
strengths and used toward creating meaningful academic cultures for employees are created,
female leaders will feel more empowered and fulfilled in their roles (Hornsby, Morrow-Jones, &
Ballam, 2012). Incorporation of formal and informal leadership roles, breaking away from
traditional institutional processes and trajectories toward leadership, and providing effective
training opportunities to harness leadership potential for minorities and women are all ways that
can create equality in opportunity for leadership positions in higher education (Hornsby,
Morrow, Jones & Ballam, 2012).
Leadership development programs have been implemented at the university level to
create programs for women and minorities to feel engaged and given opportunities to advance
within the institutional systems (Hornsby, Morro-Jones, & Ballam, 2012). Training programs
that provide a financial support system, appropriate training, evaluation, time for development,
mentorship, stress-free conditions, and trainer commitment were effective in creating an
environment where women and minorities could achieve and thrive in leadership positions
(Diener & Owens, 1984). These types of programs could serve as a helpful blueprint to follow in
reducing barriers to women and minorities. that are important to consider that accommodate
white and male advantage in the workplace (Hornsby, Morro-Jones & Ballam, 2012).

INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 39
Chapter 3: Methods
Introduction
As current literature suggests, women and individuals of minority ethnic backgrounds are
underrepresented in positions of leadership within the field of higher education (Ace, 2016;
Bichsel & McChesney, 2017). Understanding the barriers Armenian women in higher education
leadership positions overcame in order to achieve the positions of leadership they are in can help
explain this gap in representation. Exploring the psychological effects of the intergenerational
transmission of trauma and resilience on Armenian women in educational leadership positions
can help to uncover potential barriers and resources to help Armenian women reach their career
aspirations.
The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of Armenian women who are in
higher education leadership positions and discover the ways that the intergenerational
transmission of trauma and resilience from the Armenian genocide has affected them,
professionally and personally. The study helps to provide understanding of the obstacles that
women who are descendants of Armenian genocide survivors face in leadership positions in
higher education. First, the study addresses the role of intergenerational transmission of trauma
and resilience on women in university leadership positions in general. Then, it specifically
explores the role this phenomenon plays on the leadership styles of these women. Third, it helps
to identify the barriers and strategies women have overcome and implemented in achieving and
succeeding in their higher education leadership positions, in light of the psychological effects of
intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience passed on from the Armenian genocide.
Research Design
The qualitative inquiry conceptual framework utilized in this study, is narrative inquiry,
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 40
the gathering of stories to make meaning from experiences. Patton & Patton (2002) wrote that
“narrative analysis extends the idea of text to include in-depth interview transcripts, life history
narratives, historical memories and creative non-fiction (p.115).” The gathering of narratives is
necessary to understand the ways the intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience is
currently affecting Armenians in Educational Leadership positions. Interviews are a necessary
method of understanding individual experiences through which common themes emerge.
Additionally, observations of the discourse about the field of the intergenerational transmission
of trauma is crucial to witnessing the dynamic conversation around this topic and the ways in
which leaders in this field interact with one another. Without the presence of interviews, the
nuanced and detailed histories and stories of survival and resilience would lose their depth and
color and the variance would not be accounted for in a different design or type of study. Through
the narrative inquiry process, narratives of participants help to uncover psychological process
underlying participants experiences and help to draw conclusions about the impact of these
processes on leadership styles (Rossiter, 1999; Meriam & Tisdell, 2016) Additionally,
participant career history in the form of resumes was collected as a document artifact understand
in the context of the study as well as to provide additional data collection and support the validity
of the study (Meriam & Tisdell, 2016; Clandinin & Connelly, 2000).
The research design for this study was a qualitative purposeful sample study which
utilized a typical case study approach to identifying participants (Creswell 2014). Due to the
nature of the information that was gathered, a qualitative study helped to provide the deep and
rich narrative for Armenian women in leadership positions. The process of narrative inquiry
through interviews provided detailed accounts of their particular experiences. These descriptions
would not have been adequately represented through a quantitative conceptualization (Patton &
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 41
Patton, 2002). Additionally, the underrepresentation of Armenian women in leadership positions
would not be able to provide a large enough sample to conduct quantitative research upon and
extrapolate accurate meaning.
Given the area of research has not yet been explored before for women in university
leadership positions who are descendants of the Armenian genocide, the qualitative research
design provided a landscape in which discovering the potential effects of intergenerational
transmission of trauma and resilience on the leadership styles, barriers and strategies
implementing in achieving leadership positions. It is important to conceptualize this theory in a
holistic way to discover the nuances of a phenomenon that is yet to be explored for descendants
of Armenian Genocide survivors (Patton, 2002). Additionally, the importance of understanding
the meaning-making that occurs for Armenian women in leadership positions when
understanding the effects intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience from the
genocide is best discovered through qualitative inquiry (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000). Because a
qualitative approach theoretically approaches research from a phenomenological perspective, the
subject’s experience gives the opportunity to understand personal experience (Strauss & Corbin,
2008) The unknown nature of the phenomenon of intergenerational transmission of trauma and
resilience specifically for descendants of the Armenian genocide was important to consider when
choosing the most appropriate research methodology, as most research has been conducted on
descendants of the Holocaust and not on women specifically or on those in positions of
leadership in the field of education (Strauss & Corbin, 2008; Kellerman, 2001).
Sample & Selection Criteria
As a result of the nature of the research design, this study utilized a purposeful sample to
gather data (Merriam & Tisdell, 2009, Patton & Patton, 2002). This study utilized snowball
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 42
sampling where two of the study’s participants were identified and these participants referred to
others that fit criteria (Patton, 2015). Through purposeful snowball sampling, the small network
of Armenian women who are descendants of the Armenian Genocide in educational leadership
positions were more readily identified to create a typical sample and receive the most accurate,
thorough information (Patton & Patton 2002; Merriam & Tisdell, 2009). The criteria was
established through the examination of previous case studies with similar populations. The
participants had to be a second or third generation descendant of an Armenian genocide survivor,
a woman and in a position of educational leadership within a University for minimum
participation.
Rationale for Choosing Sample

The population for this study consisted of at least seven Armenian women in educational
leadership positions in universities. This sample size was determined by Patton & Patton
(2002)’s recommendation that reasonable coverage of the phenomenon is achieved to discover
the purposive snowball sampling was utilized to identify the participants that met the criteria.
The rationale for selecting the criteria derived from the focus on women descendants of
Armenian Genocide Survivors in educational leadership positions. Through observing prior
research on descendants of Holocaust survivors, intergenerational transmission of trauma and
resilience has been observed in second and third generation descendants of Holocaust survivors
(Danieli 1998; Kellermann, 2001). To model these studies in a similar way, understanding the
effects of generational trauma for second and third generation descendants of the Armenian
genocide was important to observing whether similar results would be found. Additionally, the
focus on Armenian women in educational leadership positions was an important criteria to help
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 43
discover the potential role of the cultural values of education and leadership on the participants
(Berberian, 2000; Hovanisian 1999).
Sampling Procedures
The study utilized snowball sampling to connect with participants that fit the criteria for
the study. The researcher connected with Armenians within the field of higher education who
connected with additional candidates who fit the criteria. These three individuals were located in
Southern California. This number of participants was decided upon as the unit of analysis given
the limited number of Armenian women in educational leadership positions within Southern
California, which is the county with the largest population of descendants of Armenian genocide
survivors than anywhere outside of Armenia (http://www.haias.net/news/_armenian-
population.html; Patton, 2015). The tools used for recruitment included e-mails and phone calls
and reaching out through LinkedIn. The women contacted for the study were asked for their
participation and consent.
Participants
The participants of the study were seven women in university educational leadership
positions who are second- and third-generation descendants of Armenian genocide survivors.
Their names and identifying information were changed to protect the anonymity of the
participants.

Theoretical Framework
Theory of Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma & Resilience
Utilizing a qualitative conceptual framework, the design of this research study aims at
understanding meaning rather than measuring frequency of the impact of a phenomena on a
certain group’s life (Meriam & Tisdell, 2016). After the Holocaust, research focused on
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 44
exploring the effects of the trauma to the next generation and the concept of “transgenerational
trauma,” the transmission of traumatic effects from generation to generation, was established
(Barocas & Barocas, 1973; Danieli, 1998). Additional studies indicated that certain pathological
traits, such as fear, anxiety and hyper-vigilance were manifesting in second and third generation
descendants which translated into increased vulnerability to traumatic and stressful situations in
the lives of descendants of Holocaust survivors. (Barocas & Barocas, 1973; Baider et al., 2000).
The minimal research conducted on the effects of the Armenian genocide upon its survivors
found several widely used coping mechanisms upon which survivors relied for strength,
including a faith community, supportive family, and work (Kalayjian & Weisberg, 2002).
Understanding the ways in which educational leaders have made sense of the tragedies in
their live and the lives of their ancestors is pivotal to studying and understanding the
transgenerational transmission of trauma and resilience (Merriam, 2016). The theory of
intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience suggests that both the trauma that was
experienced and the resilience that was built from survivors of trauma & genocide can be passed
down and experienced, psychosocially and perhaps biologically, in both the second and third
generations of survivors of such trauma (Barocas & Barocas, 1973, Baider et al., 2000;
Kelerman, 2001). With this theory in mind, discovering the psychosocial and emotional effects
of generational trauma on second- and third-generation descendants who are women in
university leadership positions can help explain both the barriers that were overcome by leaders
and the strategies and resilience used to achieve career advancement (Kellermann, 2001;
Kalayjian & Weisberg, 2002).

INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 45
Social Cognitive Career Theory
The social cognitive career theory suggests that leadership styles are developed through
an individual’s experience with the dynamic between the personal, cognitive and contextual
factors that compose an individual’s career path (Bandura, 1986; Gundemir et al., 2017). In
consideration of how the cultural factors of the intergenerational transmission of trauma and
resilience influence Armenian women’s leadership style, it is important to view this through the
lens of understanding how these factors intersect and affect one’s career position, role and style
(Gundemir et al., 2017; Baran, 2012).
Bolman & Deal’s Four-Frame Theory
Throughout the past several decades, various models of leadership success and
conceptualization have been developed emphasizing different aspects of leadership such as
character traits, actions of leaders and the ability for leaders to produce change
Bolman & Deal (2013) suggest that there are four leadership methods that help create frames for
how leaders interact and make decisions. They assert the belief that leaders are influenced and
shaped by their past experiences as they adjust within their leadership position and context and
conceptualize the decisions that must be made (Bolman & Deal, 2013). The first of these four
frames is structural: where the structure of the organization is clear and emphasized and focuses
on formalizing rules & regulations (Bolman & Deal, 2013). The human resource frame
approaches leadership from the mindset that it is a relationship and that the needs of the
employees must be met & respected if the organization will thrive.
The political frame asserts the power of leaders to make decisions that are in the best
needs of the organization, such as allocating resources and asserting position & control (Bolman
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 46
& Deal, 2003). The symbolic frame values the traditional symbols that emphasize cultural
meaning and build an organization’s culture.
Using Bolman & Deal (2013)’s conceptual framework, the participant’s perspective on
leadership within their respective contexts helped uncover the interaction between a leader’s
personal experience and personalities and what is best for the organization.
Transformational Leadership Theory
According to research on leaders who are women or from a minority background, ethnic
minorities tend to adopt a nurturing, inclusive, dynamic, engaging and inspiring leadership style
known as “transformational leadership”(Ardichvili, Mitchell & Jondle, 2009).
Transformational leadership is a leadership style that draws upon personal values to promote
positive and inspirational change throughout an organization, through modeling, connection to
the mission and focus on personal development (Burns, 1978). A transformational leader utilizes
psychological mechanisms of motivation, idealization and intellectual inspiration to help
promote behavior that will be beneficial for the organization as a whole to move forward toward
positive change (Bass & Aviolo, 1994). This study helped to understand the ways in which the
cultural and psychological background of the women leaders who are descendants of Armenian
Genocide survivors influenced the development of their leadership styles and the ability to
overcome barriers towards leadership achievement.
Data Collection
The use of semi-structured interviews was the primary mode of data collection in order to
discover the in-depth information necessary for understanding the experience of Armenian
women leaders in higher education who are descendants of the Armenian genocide (Merriam &
Tisdell, 2009). In order to “uncover and understand what lies behind any phenomenon about
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 47
which little is yet known” (Strauss & Corbin, 2008, p. 19), in-depth qualitative interviews will
shed light on nuances and discovering the experience of the participants and their narrative of the
story of survival of their ancestors and how that has affected them personally and professionally.
Data collection began in September 2018 and was completed in December, 2018. Each of the
educational leaders was contacted and given a consent form, ensuring anonymity and clarifying
the terms and purpose of the research study (Roberts, 2010).
Instrumentation
In the process of designing interview protocols for the research design, it was important
to align interview questions with research questions that aligned around the overall conceptual
framework of narrative qualitative analysis, to dig deeper into one’s story for the purposes of
understanding and meaning. The goal of the qualitative analysis will be that participants share
their individual experience and those of their ancestors. Semi-structured interviews helped
facilitate a narrative analytic research design to understand the ways that intergenerational
transmission of trauma has affected the leadership styles of descendants of the Armenian
Genocide who are women in leadership positions. Interview questions were pre-determined but
all questions were used flexibly and explored without a rigid order or desire for a specific answer
(Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Each question was deliberately phrased to be open-ended, which will help add to the
story and the underlying purpose of creating a semistructured atmosphere—one that coincides
with getting at the heart of a respondent’s understanding the ways in which his or her family
history may have affected career choices. The interview sessions lasted 45 minutes, with digital
recording and transcription.

INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 48
Data Analysis
The qualitative nature of this study required data analysis that coded data into themes and
categories (Tesch, 1990). Data were organized through the use of transcription methods, and the
researcher began by reading through data to gain a general sense (Tesch, 1990). The researcher
then reviewed the data twice to verify themes and patterns. Then the researcher grouped topics
within the data that connected to the research question and developed code categories (Tesch,
1990). Categories were narrowed down through the interpreting of the way intergenerational
trauma and resilience manifested in participants’ leadership styles. The questions were then
categorized under which research question they corresponded and then the analysis was
conducted.
Ethical Considerations
This study implemented thoughtful consideration and safeguards to protect participants’
rights. First, the research objectives were explained both through consent documents and through
verbal communication (Creswell, 2014). Next, written consent was gathered from participants,
and a research exemption was gained from the Institutional Review Board of the University of
Southern California. Additionally, the participants were made aware of all the methods and tools
used to transcribe and gather information. Most importantly, the consideration of the well-being
of participants was given priority throughout the process, and the participants’ anonymity was
assured (Creswell, 2014).
Conclusion
The methodology of the study helped lay the foundation from which reliable and valid
data could be collected. The data and analysis of the findings will be discussed in Chapter 4.

INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 49

Chapter 4: Findings
As stated in Chapter 1, this study examined the intergenerational transmission of trauma
and resilience and the role that it played in the lives, careers, and leadership styles of Armenian
women holding educational leadership positions. The chapter is organized in terms of the four
specific research questions presented in Chapter 1. It begins by exploring the narrative of the
participating family’s genocide history and details the way this story played a role in each
participant’s pursuit of his or her career, belief system, and leadership style.
The data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Consonant with narrative
inquiry, the participants were asked to share information about their families’ history of genocide
survival, how they made meaning of the family’s experience, the role this played in their
personal and professional lives, and how the beliefs shaped by their families may have
influenced their interest in pursuing educational leadership. Participants were also asked
questions about leadership styles and whether the way meaning was made of their families’
experiences may have played a role in developing particular leadership styles. The research
questions this study sought to explore are as follows:
1. What role does the intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience play on
women in university leadership positions who are descendants of Armenian genocide
survivors?
2. What role does the intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience play on the
leadership styles of women in university leadership positions who are descendants of
Armenian genocide survivors?
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 50
3. What barriers do women in university leadership positions who are descendants of
Armenian genocide survivors face due to the intergenerational transmission of trauma
and resilience?
4. What strategies do women in university leadership positions who are descendants of
Armenian genocide survivors employ to overcome obstacles resulting from
intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience that affect achievement of
leadership positions?
I collected and analyzed the data with the purpose to better understand the experience and
story of the participants, their cultural beliefs and perspectives, and the meaning they have made
from their respective family’s history in assessing their own personal leadership styles. In
accordance with the lens of narrative inquiry in developing research texts, the importance of the
data collected being presented as an emerging story of each participant’s identity and meaning-
making was used as the guiding factor in my collection and analysis of data (Clandinin &
Connelly, 2000). Narrative inquiry provided the lens through which the stories and themes of the
participant’s lives were explored. This was done to create a fuller picture of the experiences of
women descendants of Armenian genocide survivors as they make meaning of their family
history and cultural background and further integrate that experience into their professional lives,
advancement into leadership positions, and leadership style (Clandinin & Connelly, 2017).
The coding process to gather data drew from the qualitative methodology outlined by
Saldana (2009), which categories themes and subthemes through cycles in the coding process.
After I identified the patterns in the initial text, recoding and recategorizing were essential to my
subsequently developing theories based on the data. The qualitative data were coded and recoded
manually.
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 51
In this chapter, the data will be presented in two parts. First, the introduction and
description of each participant is represented within the table (1) with true names and titles coded
to protect confidentiality. The second part categorizes the themes extracted through analysis
from the narrative interviews and explores the interweaving of these themes within the
participants’ narratives.
Table 1
Participants

Name

Cindy
Title

Director of
Cultural
Institute
Institution

Private, 4-year institution
Country of Originà
Country of Displacement
Turkeyà Aleppo
Nancy Director of
STEM
Programming
Private, 4-year institution Turkey
Nina Director of
Cultural
Institute
Private, 4-year institution ArmeniaàUS
Renee Director of
Career & Re-
Entry
Community College Turkey
Zepure Director of
Nursing
Private, 4-year institution Turkeyà Jerusalem
Alice Director of
Global MBA
Programming
Private, 4-year institution Turkeyà Lebanon
Amanda Director of
Lab
Instruction
Science & Tech, 4 year
institution
Armeniaà Iran

INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 52

Figure 1. Coding chart summary
Participants
Cindy
Cindy has a diverse background and history that has led her to her position serving as a
director of a cultural institute at a tier-one research university. Cindy described that a non-
traditional path to leadership but did recount specific experiences in her family history that
helped shape personal development. In being asked about Cindy’s family’s genocide history,
Cindy remembered the specific experience of her maternal grandmother as having the greatest
effect on her personal and professional development.
Intergenerational
Transmission of Trauma
Generational
Trauma of
Genocide
Hypervigilance
Trauma of
Displacement
Trauma of
Displacement
Education as
Survival
Implicit Familial
Educational
Expectations
Ambassador for
Genocide
education
Resilience
Overcoming
obstacles
Modeling of
Ancestor's
Survival
Transformational
Leadership
Idealized
influence/mentorship
Individualized
Consideration and
empathy
Armenian Women
in Educational
Leadership
Positions
Transformational
Leadership Theory
Identity
formation
Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder
Conspiracy of
Silence
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 53
Cindy cited the ways in which her grandmother’s trauma history was painful for her
grandmother to discuss, included kidnapping, trafficking, and forced marriage. Yet, her
grandmother’s trauma infiltrated her own daily life and routine. Cindy’s story chronicles her
grandmother’s journey “which somebody today would call post-traumatic, childhood trauma”
and how that passed on inter-generationally to Cindy’s mother. Cindy shared the way her mother
was affected by her grandmother’s trauma through the focus of education. Cindy internalized
the emphasis of education in her family, citing the obstacles of low self- esteem and low
ambition she developed as a result of barriers she faced as a woman in a leadership role. Cindy
made meaning of her grandmother’s survival and resilience. In hindsight, Cindy was able to
acknowledge that her experience as a woman in the fields she worked in may have contributed to
her feeling insufficiently ambitious, but demonstrates feelings of resilience and perseverance and
an attitude of “not giving up,” despite these feelings. She also shared her experience of being an
Armenian woman and of receiving mixed messages, both culturally and from her mother.
Resilience and perseverance are interwoven traits in Cindy’s story and in the story of her
grandmother’s survival. Additional aspects of Cindy’s professional identity include the concept
“If I do something, I do it seriously.” Moreover, she is a leader and holds a particular perspective
on servant leadership and on motivating others to be involved due to the fact that she herself has
served and continues to serve on the frontlines of whatever she is asking others to do.
Cindy’s identity as a servant leader, on the frontlines of a cause, is a huge motivating
factor for her in her overcoming obstacles to any cause she is devoted to. Another motivating
factor is the concept of meaning and being involved in something of consequence. She stated, “I
want to be able to look back and say, “That was meaningful; that was worth it.”

INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 54
Nancy
Nancy began sharing her family’s story of genocide survival by recounting her
experience as an Armenian in Turkey, characterized by the absence of information she had about
her family’s story in light of their displacement and dispersion. Nancy serves as the director of
STEM programming for a public research university. The undercurrent of her family’s story of
displacement colors her experience of pursuing education and career leadership positions. She
began crying when asked to do exactly that: to sit and reflect on what has happened to her
family, her family’s story. What seemed especially profound in her own experience is the
concept of displacement and home. She also emphasized the experience of being asked to sit,
think, reflect, and share about her experience as something she does not typically encounter. She
recalled that, like many Armenians and descendants of Armenian genocide survivors, the lack of
self-esteem and pride was characteristic of her own personal and professional development, as
was the internal conflict between differing narratives of identity.
The theme and importance of education was emphasized in her family as a core value,
and Nancy identified obstacles she experienced as a woman and as an Armenian regarding
professional opportunities. She stated, “Education was a must. That I had to get out of there was
a must . . . I did attribute a lot of things to being a woman because I wasn’t going to stay in
Turkey.”
Despite the lack of opportunities for Armenians as a marginalized people in Turkey,
Nancy shared that her family’s story of survival helped motivate her and keep her working hard,
acknowledging that forced displacement is an obstacle for her and others in achieving success.
Nancy apologetically shared how she feels and minimized her experience by comparing it
to those of other Armenians in the diaspora, such as those from Syria, who don’t have a home to
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 55
which they can return. A potential resource that could help her cope through a hard time, such as
a layoff from a job, feels lacking when compared with others who have various supports that can
serve as a resource in difficult times. With the awareness that her external resources may be
limited because she is not near her homeland and community, she also shared that internal
resources become strengthened because of her necessity to rely on herself to persevere.
Nancy spoke of the balance between experiencing “survivor guilt” versus feeling empowered by
the opportunities she has in America in contrast to other Armenian women in Turkey who
experience the same lack of opportunity she did when she was there. This influences Nancy’s
leadership style and cultural value of equality. She stated:
I strive for an egalitarian structure rather than a hierarchical structure where someone has
power and authority to tell others what to do . . . my background made me seek equal
power, an open door, so that these things can be discussed and negotiated . . .
As we close the interview, tears rolled down Nancy’s cheeks as she reflected on this
profound generational belief and fear, that when she fails and does not succeed, or “survive,” it is
she who is to be blamed. She wished me luck as we end the interview and, in accordance with
her philosophy, her parting words, without skipping a beat in the Armenian philosophy of
perseverance and continuing forward, she says, while still weeping:
“I’ll be fine—in a few minutes’ time.”
Nina
Nina serves as the director of a cultural institution at an Ivy League university. Her
trajectory and path to success and leadership in her field cannot be denied. Her family’s genocide
survival story, although not fully known, helped shape her beliefs and values—about education
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 56
as a field and about her global perspective and interest in becoming a leader in the cultural
institute.
Her knowledge of her family history of genocide is characterized by the absence of her
father’s side of the family’s survival story, whereas her mother’s side is known as an “escape to
America.”
Her interest in pursuing the field of education as a career developed due to the cultural
and familial importance placed on education and despite her desire to be apathetic.
She shared in a lighthearted way as she laughed about “becoming her mom” and reflected on the
priority placed on education in her home. The generational importance of education stemmed
from her grandmother’s experience of being deported after the genocide and immigrating to this
country. Nina stated the following:
At the age of 11, speaking no English, and she graduated on time from high school with
her peers. There was clearly the appreciation for what education could do in this country .
. . and my mother happened to be extremely focused on making sure that not only were
we educated, but [also that] we were valedictorians . . . this [education] was not anything
that we were going to take for granted. We were going to excel because [that was] the
way to make sure that, the next generation, we would progress even further than them.
Nina’s family emphasized the importance of doing well because the belief was that, if you could
do your best, your future would be better than what the generation preceding you had
experienced, and you will set up your children and grandchildren for even further success
because they will be building upon your already successful platform. In this way, the Armenian
people, whose entire existence another nation sought to destroy, now is creating a legacy of
generations of Armenians who, the hope is, will continue to thrive if they survive and succeed.
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 57
It seems that the questions and holes in her own family’s story of survival motivated Nina
to ensure that the stories the world does have of genocide are not lost or kept secret and to share
that there is value in knowledge and education of these survival stories with the world. Nina
further stated:
There’s no way around feeling like we’re very fortunate even to be here, and we exist in
spite of the odds. And I guess it’s always motivated me to honor the legacy of those who
were murdered and those who fought so hard to survive, to not squander this life. That’s
made me strive for leadership roles, and the way that I represent, to the world around us,
what it means to be a strong, surviving Armenian woman.
She highlighted the resilience that has been passed down in face of the trauma of deportation and
displacement and the striving for success in a foreign country to which you forcibly immigrated.
She shares her belief: “Life is a gift. If you hit a roadblock, not to feel sorry for yourself or
despondent—but that we have this incredible culture around us.
Renee
As the director of career services in higher education, Renee has worked her way through
various positions to reach the role she currently holds and credits that to her passion for
education and her love for working with people and helping students succeed. In recounting her
father’s story, Renee shared how Armenians who returned to Armenia then had to struggle under
Soviet rule and the way that her father “escaped” was through education. This was his ticket out
of continued oppression in his homeland, returning to a village he saw destroyed. Renee draws
the parallels between her father’s experience and the expectation of education and her own life
and value of education:
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 58
I think for me, my ability to go through the educational system and for my own ambitions
in career development really comes from my father’s side . . . I’m very passionate about
what I do. I love working with students. I always tend to go above and beyond to the
point that it’s almost disturbing.
Renee made meaning of her family’s role in her own leadership development. She saw a
connection between being the eldest sibling and taking on a mothering role to her brothers and
that combined with her love of people and performing all came together in the form of being a
leader—in a way that she could not see her brothers taking on similar roles of leadership. I asked
whether she felt that her cultural beliefs were combined with her motivation and ambition as a
woman and as an Armenian, and she shared about the mental health struggles that her mom
experiences, which she attributes to what her ancestors experienced due to the genocide.
Although Renee acknowledged the pain her mother’s depression brought to the family,
plus the way the trauma has been passed down from her grandparents, she has made meaning of
the way this experience has simultaneously helped strengthen her. She has grown her
interpersonal skills and been motivated to work hard and to believe in her capabilities:
It [family’s history of survival] influenced especially the work ethic piece and knowing
we have something good to offer and [that] you need to persevere through things. And if
I didn’t have that kind of ambition, I think there would have been some level of
disappointment, especially from my father’s side. So it was sort of like, keep driving
harder, keep being better, always keep your head down, and work hard.
Renee drew a connection between her role in her family and her leadership style, reflecting her
belief that the working within a family system has equipped her with the interpersonal skills to
help her be a strong leader who values equality of diverse perspectives.
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 59
Wendy
As the dean of students in the medical school program of a 4-year university, Wendy
achieved her position through practicing as a nurse and continued to pursue leadership
opportunities that arose along the way and thus led her to her current position. Wendy has made
meaning of the displacement and the need to be successful because of the knowledge that she
and her family were not in their homeland and needed to work hard and keep a strong identity.
She stated, “Because we were part of the survivors of the genocide living outside of our own
homeland, you had to thrive. You had to work hard to reach where you are.”
Wendy’s identity formation was influenced by her desire to represent Armenians well. In
her career as a nurse, she wanted to represent her background and community well. Additionally,
through her passion and interest in education and continued learning, combined with the positive
reinforcement of her colleagues and preceptors, she persevered and continued to advance her
career. Wendy understood the heavy influence of education from her family as a means of
survival, as many Armenians, such as her own family, did not have the financial resources to
truly thrive, and education was viewed as a way out of potential poverty. She stated:
Education was a heavy influence because people who survived the genocide had to go
through financial burdens. My mom and dad had to survive and help themselves because
their parents didn’t have much; they didn’t go to college or have a formal education, so
going to college was instilled in us when we were little. My dad used to tell me, “I didn’t
go to school. I didn’t get a degree. You should.
As Wendy spoke of leadership, it seemed that she had extracted the meaning from her career as
having resulted from her desire as an Armenian to be involved, to contribute, and to connect.
Leadership was not her primary goal, but opportunities opened up due to hard work. Wendy, in
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 60
reflecting on her leadership style, embodies what it means to be a transformational leader, in her
service, inspiration, and helping join organizations and create change, which she attributes to her
background in making her voice and influence known. She said:
I like to grow people and lead tasks, be inspirational. I do inspire people and motivate
them, not to just do the job, but also carry on with the job. When you live in a different
country that’s not your homeland, you have to take care of yourself. You have to survive
and make sure people realize you are present. This is resilience.
Wendy shared that she believes being in America has truly given her the environment
where she can overcome the obstacles related to her history and trauma that the genocide caused
her family. She works hard and believes that it is rewarded because of American culture.
Alice
Alice has a diverse background with a variety of experiences in education and business
that have led her to her prominent role directing the MBA program at one of the top-ranked
universities in the world. She began her story with her family history of genocide survival,
sharing the story of her family’s displacement from southern Turkey to Aleppo, Syria.
Along with the recognition of her grandparents’ silence, trauma, and survivor guilt, Alice
reflected on the trauma of displacement and how, despite the trauma they had lived through, the
trauma of displacement and moving affected her in ways she did not understand until she was an
adult.
Although the trauma of genocide was not openly discussed, the reality and challenges of
displacement were an influential piece of Alice’s upbringing and development. However, she
acknowledged the ways that the trauma contributed to her resilience as well. She stated:
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They talked about moving, starting over, not having anything, and leaving. And I think a
lot of that has come into my fabric. They talked about being displaced. And I think we
are all, as a nation and a people, very resilient because we’ve been displaced. And I think
we thrive where we land. And I think myself, my family, is proof of that. You can start
with nothing, and if you want to, you can get somewhere. And I think that’s the lesson of
life.
Interwoven in Alice’s pursuit of higher education, despite her not even knowing a word
of English when she came arrived at the age of 10, is her father’s reinforcement of her skills and
talents. Alice further shared:
I remember my father has always said, “You go for it!’ Anytime I’ve wanted to make a
change, I always went to him. Because I thought he understood. I think over my life,
there are a couple of times where my father has said to me something as simple as ‘We
don’t fail. You don’t fail.” He said, “My daughter doesn’t fail. You go figure it out.” I
said, “Are you kidding me?” He goes, “You’re gonna figure it out.” And honestly,
Christine, one of those projects he encouraged me on was the best 2 years in my entire
career.
Her personal experiences, and those of her family’s acculturation to the United States after
displacement, helped inspire her passion for her work, which she says she would be unable to be
successful in, or even engage in, if she did not find it meaningful and rewarding:
I have to believe with a passion in what I’m doing. And for me, that’s been a game-
changer. It’s not work. If it’s work, it’s too painful. You have to love what you do, and I
just had a recent transition a few months ago. And I wasn’t sure at first, but now I’m
understanding the value I can bring.
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Although her path to leadership was not a linear one, and she encountered several setbacks along
the way, she believes that her passion for the work she does helps her continue to pursue
excellence and work hard. This work ethic, has contributed to her achieving a leadership role and
career advancement:
Alice embodies transformational leadership in her role and in her philanthropy efforts to
empower women in leadership roles and those pursuing leadership positions as well. The
displacement that brought her family so much hardship and so many hurdles is also the condition
she credits for her success and for her leadership style. Alice told me this: “I think their sacrifices
have enabled me to thrive. I think what has really helped me in my leadership journey is their
stories and their ability to connect on all levels. I’ve become more inclusive.”
Amanda
Amanda works as a scientist. Her career and natural leadership ability led her to be
promoted multiple times within her educational institution, in the science department and lab
management of a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) specialty school. Amanda
shared how, during the deportations of the Armenian genocide, her mother’s sister was separated
from the family and how the family was torn apart. She recognized that although she does know
all the details of this part of the history, she has sensed that not everything was told to her or
openly discussed. She stated, “I think the survivors don’t like to retell the stories necessarily
because there was always this fear that it can happen again.” She recalled how many specific
traits, such as the fear and hypervigilance, both signs of trauma, were pervasive in her family and
stated the following:
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 63
The fear, I think what you could see is that they always lived with the fear that this can
happen again, and that’s why they didn’t trust. They were vigilant about following the
news, what is happening, what’s happening in the world, to Armenians, in Armenia.
Ingrained in Amanda’s upbringing was the value of keeping the culture alive, representing and
sharing the history as a representative of it. The way she has carried on that “ambassador” role
supports the belief that psychological genocide continues due to the lack of recognition of the
Armenian genocide as an official genocide from many leaders around the world today. Amanda
stated:
You go to marches, and you make sure the way that my parents, grandparents made sure
that I didn’t forget what happened to them and the rest of Armenians. I also make sure
that my kids don’t forget that. Of course, that essentially imprinted in us, in our
conscience and in our minds.
Amanda has credited her mom and the Armenian community of Iran for her own
experience of success on the small stage, in a smaller community with less pressure, one that
reinforced positive beliefs about herself and negated fears and low self-esteem. Amanda further
stated:
All of these experiences helped me develop a drive to do more, go more, have a higher
education, because suddenly you realize, ‘Wow, I have all this; I could do all this. I have
this potential.’ It also makes your personality much more of a team player, where you can
work well with people.
She also believes that pursuing her passions and interests, and developing skills such as
writing for the newspaper or being part of the drama team, helped her develop her interpersonal
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 64
skills and overcome fears that have assisted her in becoming a more capable leader today.
Amanda said the following:
I could see that I, from all my past experiences, because I was supervising teenagers. That
education is valuable; this is our culture. I can see how that comes in handy as a manager
and be[ing] happy to assume leadership roles. I think I strive to do more always. If, in the
future, you’re going to be a leader, and you’re going to have a leadership role, that
already starts cultivating early on.
Themes
The study included Armenian women in educational leadership positions who are
second- and third-generation descendants of Armenian genocide survivors. The participants
shared similarities in terms of demographics, while also having had different experiences that
were illustrated through their families’ narratives (Clandinin & Connolly, 2017). Despite their
differences, specifically where their families sought refuge after the Armenian genocide, several
themes emerged from the narratives that reflected the research covered in this study’s literature
review. The themes were developed from the participants’ narratives and the meaning that was
made from their understanding of their ancestors’ survival that has played a role in their current
educational leadership positions. The themes that emerged from the interviews can be reflected
in the following categories:
1. Generational Trauma of Genocide/ The Conspiracy of Silence
2. Trauma of Displacement
3. Education as Survival
4. Resilience: “We do not fail.”
5. Transformational Leadership: “To lead, you must serve.”
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 65
Generational Trauma of Genocide
Interwoven throughout each participant’s narratives were incidences of trauma within the
stories of the participants’ ancestors juxtaposed with the missing components of genocide
survival stories that remained unknown in the participants’ family histories. As Cindy spoke
about her grandmother’s story, although the concept of post-traumatic stress disorder had not yet
been developed when her grandmother experienced the trauma of genocide, Cindy
acknowledged that the term reflected her grandmother’s experience, which strongly influenced
who Cindy is today. Cindy stated:
And I would ask, “What are you singing?” and she’d say, “Let me tell you the words.”
And it was always about loss. That informed my life. I’m sure somebody today would
call it post-traumatic something childhood trauma, growing up without any adults, any
protection. No one protected her. Everybody around her wanted something from her.
Cindy has made meaning of her grandmother’s personality and symptoms of traumatic
experience in retrospect, which helps Cindy understand the ways in which she has embraced her
own experience of becoming self-sufficient.
In a similar way, Nancy recognized her family’s traumatic experience of surviving the
genocide as triggering her own insecurities and a perpetuation of a victim mentality, reinforcing
the negative beliefs that “I deserve the negative things that have happened to me.” Nancy stated:
There was definitely a time, hearing from my parents that if genocide happened, we must
have done something to deserve it. So that makes me really sensitive to the feeling,
“Have I done something to deserve what has come my way?” Like that I’ve been laid off,
I must have done something to deserve it. At the emotional core of things as far as fears
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 66
and anxieties go, there’s that anxiety, have I done something wrong to deserve what’s
come my way.
The way that Nancy made meaning of her family’s silence about their history of trauma through
surviving the genocide illustrates the way in which the “conspiracy of silence” or lack of
discussion and processing of their story influenced her identity formation:
The conversations were minimized up until I was in my teens. Then the conversation we
had was basically self-blame as victims of genocide because if this happened to us, we
must have deserved it . . . as far as my formative years and identity, there was a lot of
confusing narrative with regard to who we were as Armenians and what things we should
be proud of—so then you have a splintered identity.
The trauma her family experienced influenced her own struggle with negative thoughts
about herself:
“This kind of self-hatred for having deserved, like we deserved what happened. Of
course, this is in conflict with, why should I as a human being, be hated so much?”
The theme of silence was also prominent in Nina’s recollection of her family’s genocide
survival story. Nina’s story exemplified the way that her lack of knowledge about her
grandparents’ survival story inspired Nina to learn more about genocide and to adopt the identity
of an “ambassador” in sharing that information with others. Many Armenians do something
similar in their efforts to educate others, both professionally and personally. Education became a
way for to further understand her own family’s experience. Nancy shared this:
We always knew the word genocide; we always knew that not just my grandparents, but
all the elders around us, had been survivors of the genocide or descendants of the
genocide. I started asking more questions as we were doing research projects basically in
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school. My master’s and doctoral work was on policy issues around teaching contested
histories, in particular their genocide and holocaust in US public schools. I’m always
thinking about what we do and what we don’t teach.
Additionally, the intergenerational effects of trauma manifested themselves in Renee’s
experience of accommodating and compensating for her mother’s mental illness by being the
caretaker of the family. Renee stated:
I believe that with collective trauma or stressors, like the genocide that happened to many
Armenian families, there was a lot of impact, especially on my mom and her mental
health. And so, I know that growing up, I became the person that helped. I was the glue
for the family, helped hold everything together.
Renee recognized in her own process of making meaning of her family’s history of
trauma and the ways the trauma from genocide has had generational influence the lack of
acknowledgement of and education about mental illness within her family and community. She
shared this:
With the experience of having mental illness run in the family, that’s something that
Armenians, in my opinion, they don’t know a lot about. And it’s kind of scary and
frustrating because when there’s not a lot of understanding around that, there’s a lot of
like . . . Oh, but we don’t speak to you because of that, and so it just becomes more and
more separated.
Alice, similar to the other women, experienced the trauma of her ancestors through
relationships with her grandparents, who survived the genocide, focusing on moving forward in
the midst of narratives of the violence and devastation of the genocide. Alice stated:
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 68
But back then, it was like, “Let’s look forward, let’s continue.” Graphic, gory details,
really as an adult I learned, but back then, they were trying to protect us. They were
grateful that they had grandchildren and that we were thriving, but it was never like,
“You have to go back, and you have to relive it.” Because it was painful for them.
Alice gained insight into her grandparents’ experience later in life by recalling that there
was both grief and gratitude shared through the retelling of their traumatic past. She stated:
I didn’t realize back then, as I was a child, is that they never wanted to talk about it [the
genocide]. They just said terrible things, [such as] “We lost this neighbor, that neighbor,”
but it was never something that they spoke about every day. It was more about silence,
gratitude and silence at the same time. I think they felt fortunate that they were there, are
and that they had their children, although extended family members did not make it. So I
think there was a little bit of shame in that they had survived and others didn’t.
Integrated into the story of survival was the need to move forward and to demonstrate
resilience, as Alice recounts in her family’s story. The absence of details in Alice’s family’s
story of genocide survival mirrors what the other participants also experienced: In great part, the
stories and emotions passed down were those of loss and unprocessed grief. Alice shared this:
These are the things we didn’t talk about. They talked about loss. And until I became an
adult, I didn’t really understand what the impact was. Because it was, I think, both
resilient persistence and also shame that they were the ones that made it, but others they
knew didn’t. It was always a hard conversation to have growing up and as we moved to
build a better life.
Wendy recalled her mother’s depressive symptoms as being prevalent throughout the family’s
story of immigration to the United States:
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My mom was a young mom, and my dad, an old dad, and I remember that whole year,
she cried. We didn’t know English. No money. We didn’t just get up and take everything
with us. We got up, and we just came. We get to the States, we know nobody, my mom is
crying nonstop, we don’t have the language.
Amanda noticed that in her family’s persistent fear of the unknown and current events, a
form of hypervigilance existed should they needed to flee for safety once again. She stated:
The fear, I think what you could see is that they always lived with the fear that this can
happen again, and that’s why they didn’t trust. They were vigilant about following the
news, what is happening, what’s happening in the world, to Armenians, in Armenia.
Trauma of Displacement
Ever-present throughout the narratives of the study’s participants was the theme of
displacement and the ways in which the experiences that stemmed from displacement were
traumatic for the participants’ families.
Nancy shared her family’s experience of trauma and was moved to tears in the telling of her
family’s story:
There has always been a dispersion of family members all over the world. I’m often
surprised how I get upset over that, and I don’t know why that is. I think it’s just a level
of frustration with the amount of uprooting that has happened to our Armenian people. It
hits you every time you sit and contemplate it. Because otherwise, you’re just keeping
yourself busy, being productive, and being kind of . . . giving back to society and doing
your duty . . . sorry about being upset but . . . Of course, you do have a home, but home
as you defined, as you define your people, like people that surround that home, is not
immediate; they’re all over the world.
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Despite the difficulties of picking up and moving, Nina has reframed her experience to be
one of knowing that through these difficulties, she can always find support:
And I’ve always felt like I’m not alone: The network of people in the Armenian world
will always remind me of that. This sense of continuing on and staying determined and
knowing that, in the end, we will take care of each other. I have this feeling that I have
the support and a big network I can always draw on if I have to overcome anything
difficult.
Similarly, the meaning Wendy has made about her family’s displacement resulted in the
pressure to succeed and the need to thrive in the country she and her family migrated to. Wendy
stated:
Because we were part of the survivors of the genocide living outside of our own
homeland, you had to thrive. You had to work hard to reach where you are. So I think
that’s something that’s common through all Armenians overseas; they are really
hardworking people. It was a tragedy we went through, you know.
Comparable to what Nancy experienced, Renee viewed displacement as an obstacle that
must be overcome because it creates a sense of disconnection and a lack of support, which she
shared has negatively affected her family’s mental health. Renee said the following:
I would love to be more connected because I feel it’s sort of part of our fabric to be
connected to one another, especially in a land that’s different from where we’ve come
from. Just a sadness that there was a displacement and that [being more connected] that is
not possible because of that displacement. When thinking of family, it feels a bit
competitive and disjointed in a way.
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She felt that because Armenians have experienced displacement, they have become accustomed
to accommodate separateness and lack of community, despite the sense of loss from not having
the support they crave. She further stated:
And unfortunately, we’re a little bit used to that because, well, we had to leave our
country once, and then we left our country twice, and then a third time and have to
assimilate every time. And so, it’s something where maybe we’re a little too used to
feeling that separateness. Whereas we could make a better effort to join together and
understand those things in a deeper, more meaningful way.
Amanda recognizes the struggle her family and others have had to experience with that loss of
community and the role this has played in her in her family’s narrative and journey. Amanda
stated:
When you leave countries that have a very big Armenian community in the Middle East,
there is always a loss there because everybody thought that it’s easier to leave, but it’s not
easier because these are much older communities [than the ones they go to] , more
established.
Wendy related to the longing for a connection with other Armenians but felt that being
comfortable with moving has enriched and furthered her career: “The only thing is that I am here,
and I don’t have a lot of interactions with Armenians. So I truly miss that part. But I think that it
enriched my experience and career to move around.”
In the same way, Alice acknowledged the trauma and resilience her family experienced
as a result of displacement and the pressure to thrive:
They talked about moving, starting over, not having anything, and leaving. And I think a
lot of that has come into my fabric. They talked about being displaced. And I think we
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 72
are all, as a nation and a people, very resilient because we’ve been displaced. And I think
we thrive where we land. And I think myself, my family, is proof of that. You can start
with nothing, and if you want to, you can get somewhere. And I think that’s the lesson of
life.
My mom was a young mom, and my dad, an old dad, and I remember that whole year,
she cried. We didn’t know English. No money. We didn’t just get up and take everything
with us. We got up and we just came. We get to the states, we know nobody, my mom is
crying non-stop, we don’t have the language.
Similar to Wendy, Alice also believed that the displacement influenced her ability to be
comfortable in the international work she does now. Alice stated:
All the displaced background has led to my international work and the expansion of the
business school. I have worked in the places I was never prepared to work, but I’m using
the basic skills of the grandparents and parents to get on the ground, adapt, be empathetic,
put your feet in their shoes.
Amanda demonstrated insight into her family’s understanding of how the trauma of displacement
led them to remain hypervigilant about current events due to fear that they may be displaced and
need to rebuild again. “I think the survivors don’t like to retell the stories necessarily because
there was always this fear that it can happen again.”
The trauma and resilience from familial displacement resulting from the Armenian
genocide had an undeniable effect on each woman’s life and the way meaning was made from
each family’s experiences. Each woman grew to be resilient from her family’s struggle and
developed leadership skills with an international, global perspective via the displacement and the
multicultural roots their families planted across the world after fleeing the genocide.
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 73
Education as Survival
The value on education as a field, and the ways it is reflected through the participants’
desire to educate others about the genocide, is a theme that emerged through the women’s
narratives.
Each woman spoke of the value of education that has been passed down, implicitly and
explicitly from their grandparents and parents. Cindy stated:
My mother was pretty much a self-made person . . . my mother had a bachelor’s degree
before we came to the US, she got a master’s degree here and published articles on
microbiology so education, books, all of that’s always been important….nobody ever said
[education or getting knowledge is important]; I knew it. I graduated [from] high school
when I was 15, started college at that age. Nobody had to tell me; it’s what fed me.
Nancy stated:
I came here at the age of 20, not knowing what was expected of me, except for knowing
that I was going to get an education. Education was a must. That I had to get out of
[Turkey] was a must. As Armenians, what you need to do is just be smart and educated
so that you can pick up and go because who knows where the next displacement will be,
you know? So life isn’t as tragic as this. I’m sorry; I don’t know why I’m getting upset.
In light of what Nina did not know about her family’s history, she was able to use the
lens of education to make meaning of her family’s story of survival and learned a great deal of
her family’s story through her school projects. Nina stated:
I took on a sort of academic and education view with regard to it. It started to really
influence my sense of justice and the need for education; in college, [it] started guiding
me toward my career path and, you know, a conviction to make our stories, and those of
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 74
others who endured the atrocities, more accessible and widely taught. Education was
always what drove the dynamics of our home. The value of education was certainly
always imparted to us, but no question, seeing my mom as an educator was a tremendous
influence on my decision.
In addition, after moving to the states, her family recognized the importance of education to
success in America. Nina further stated:
There was clearly the appreciation for what education could do in this country . . . and my
mother happened to be extremely focused on making sure that not only were we
educated, but [also] we were valedictorians . . . this [education] was not anything that we
were going to take for granted. We were going to excel because the way to make sure
that, the next generation, we would progress even further than them.
Renee’s family also modeled the unspoken expectation of education. She spoke of her father’s
experience of becoming an engineer as follows:
There wasn’t really a question that if they could afford school, he would go. I remember
at one point he said, “I had always wanted to be a doctor, but my parents couldn’t afford
that, so they sent me to engineering school instead.” I think that’s sort of indicative of the
fact that that was ingrained in them. It wasn’t a question of going to school or not.
Renee experienced the value that her family placed on education through their approval of the
field of education as a legitimate course to pursue. “I am a singer and do a lot of choir music, but
I found a way to find something respectable in education.”
Wendy recalls her interest in pursuing education stemming from her work as a nurse. She
reflects on her family’s high value placed on education, something they themselves had not
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 75
received, because of education’s connection to financial success and its serving as a means of
survival. She stated:
Education was a heavy influence because people who survived the genocide had to go
through financial burdens. My mom and dad had to survive and help themselves because
their parents didn’t have much; they didn’t go to college or have a formal education, so
going to college was instilled in us when we were little. My dad used to tell me, “I didn’t
go to school. I didn’t get a degree. You should.”
The pursuit of education was positively reinforced by Alice’s father, who encouraged and
believed in her ability to be successful, despite the obstacles t she faced in this country—
language barriers and discrimination. Alice said:
I think it worked because when I was 10, we came to Arlington, we had no network, we
didn’t know the language, and somehow it worked. At Thanksgiving, we would invite
classmates who didn’t go back to wherever they came from. And we would have these
dinners, and families would come; we’d be multilingual.
Amanda told of her mother’s emphasis on education as the way to persevere through the
difficulties they faced from their ancestors surviving genocide and from being displaced to Iran:
My mom couldn’t pursue higher education, and she worked especially hard in raising us
to value education. She taught us that this is the way to go. This is the way to move
forward. And we were involved in everything, which I think truly helped with my
personal skills and developing other parts of my personality.

INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 76
Resilience: “We Do Not Fail”
In the same way that the trauma stemming from genocide has been understood by the
women in this study, the value of resilience being passed down as an intergenerational strength
was prevalent throughout the participants’ narratives.
Cindy made meaning of resilience in her family values by persevering through obstacles in her
career as a woman in leadership. Cindy stated:
In retrospect, I know that had I been a man doing some of the things that I had done,
there would have been different treatment, different paths. At the time, it didn’t occur to
me, didn’t bother me. I did what needed to be done.
Although she had never made the connection within her family’s story, the restorying process
(Clandinin & Connelly, 2000) helped Cindy create meaning of her family’s experience, allowing
her to note the ways that resilience also was passed down intergenerationally, from her
grandmother, to her, to her children:
I’ve never drawn a direct connection, but as you say it, it’s what I’ve seen. That you
overcome and move forward. My kids say the best thing I’ve taught them is [to] just
move on. And it is how I love. Just move on.
Nancy similarly reflected on her ability to overcome obstacles and to persevere. She reframed
the trauma of genocide and displacement in her family as a source of growth in her professional
endeavors to pursue and thrive in her career:
It’s a balance between knowing your strength, having overcome a lot of difficulties that
maybe other people haven’t faced. The flip side of that is you can rely on yourself
because you did most things by yourself, compared to other people who may have had
family and friends and networks and all of that to support them through their careers.
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 77
She also summarized a theme present within the narratives of the other women in that what she
previously had perceived was her identity as “risk averse” had since been reframed as being a
“risk taker” when she views all she has overcome in her journey:
Until the point, my own narrative was that I was risk averse, and then it struck me that,
no, I’m not risk averse; I’m actually a risk taker. I came here at the age of 20, not
knowing what was expected of me except for knowing that I was going to get an
education.
In the same way, Nina summarizes the lesson her family’s story of survival has taught her and
how it has helped her in difficult moments: “Life is a gift. If you hit a roadblock, not to feel sorry
for yourself or despondent.”
She believes that the resilience she has developed has been influenced by her reflection
on the way her grandparents were resilient in their will to survive and thrive after the genocide:
“I think nothing I face could be even a fraction of what my grandmother and others faced, so for
me that’s always been the reality check that sometimes you need when you’re feeling like you’re
up against the wall.”
Similar to Cindy, Nina also reflects on the power of resilience in helping her children and
generations to progress and continue to succeed, and to go even further than those who came
before: “We were going to excel because the way to make sure that, the next generation, we
would progress even further than them.”
Renee believes that while her mother’s mental illness, which she thinks resulted from
generational trauma, negatively affected her family, filling in the maternal role in her family
helped Renee build her interpersonal skills, which she has seen as a strength:
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 78
“I could step in when my mom’s impact was becoming negative on my brothers. I would
try to mediate or figure things out and smooth things over. It probably did increase my
ability to have those kinds of interpersonal skills just by nature of my mom, at times, not
being well because she was traumatized by the way they were raised and the experiences
that her parents had gone through.”
She also recognized resilience as a principal factor in her career development and work ethic:
It [family’s history of survival] influenced especially the work ethic piece and knowing
we have something good to offer and [that] you need to persevere through things. And if
I didn’t have that kind of ambition, I think there would have been some level of
disappointment, especially from my father’s side. So it was sort of like, keep driving
harder, keep being better, always keep your head down, and work hard.”
In the same way, Wendy’s story reflected the theme of resilience, specifically regarding her
ability to pursue her career goals in spite of her self-doubt to be able to achieve. The key was for
her to focus on the necessity to survive—this is what fostered her success:
“People say I do a good job, and working hard is the key to success. When you live in a
different country that’s not your homeland, you have to take care of yourself. You have
to survive and make sure people realize you are present. This is resilience. Because we
were part of the survivors of the genocide living outside of our own homeland, you had to
thrive. You had to work hard to reach where you are. So I think that’s something that’s
common through all Armenians overseas; they are really hardworking people. You have
to survive and make sure people realize you are present. This is resilience.”
Alice shared about her experience recognizing her own resilience in the workplace, which was
inspired by her father. This gave her self-confidence that she had never previously experienced
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the extent of before. In a similar way to what Wendy described. Alice’s identity was shaped from
her father’s belief in her and in his encouragement to not give up and to not fail:
“I remember my father has always said, ‘You go for it!’ Anytime I’ve wanted to make a
change, I always went to him because I thought he understood. I think over my life, there
are a couple of times where my father has said to me something as simple as ‘We don’t
fail.’ You don’t fail. He said, ‘My daughter doesn’t fail. You go figure it out.’ I said, ‘Are
you kidding me?’ He goes, ‘You’re gonna figure it out.’ And honestly, Christine, one of
those projects he encouraged me on was the best 2 years.”
Interwoven in Amanda’s development of resilience is the way that her mother’s belief in
education served as catalyst for forward growth and perseverance:
“She taught us that this is the way to go. This is the way to grow forward. And we were
involved in everything.”
Transformational Leadership: “To Lead, You Must Serve.”
As the participants in this study identified and shared their leadership styles, the tenets of
transformational leadership, providing mentorship and working as facilitators of positive change
in their positions, are integral parts of their careers development as university leaders:
Cindy recognizes her strength in motivating and serving alongside her constituents in causes she
finds meaningful: “I’m really good at asking people to participate and do something. I have no
problem asking, because I do it. I’m doing it, I’m not asking you to do something I’m not doing.”
Cindy recognized that she is nurturing and cares about mentorship in her leadership style,
but is unsure whether she can attribute that to being an Armenian or to being a woman—or both.
My understanding of who I am as an individual, as a mother, as a friend, as a member of
the community, those same characteristics I bring to my job . . . I’m welcoming,
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mentoring, and mothering, and yes, it comes from the culture. But there are plenty of
Armenians who are not [like that], but for sure a lot of things that make my style specific
do come from my background. I want to be able to look back and say, “That was
meaningful; that was worth it.”
In making meaning of her own personal leadership style, Nancy has grappled with the
development of this outlook as being part of her identity as a woman, part of her identity as an
Armenian, or both:
How much of that is being Armenian? How much of that is being a woman? The fact that
we didn’t, as Armenian people in a Turkish society, have a voice . . . not having a voice
makes me sensitive to who doesn’t have a voice and how can I give them a voice.
Nancy’s experience of defining her leadership style is similar to Cindy’s in that she can’t identify
the root of her leadership style but does acknowledge that her cultural values influence the way
she leads, and the importance of equality and a democratic-leadership style, which reflects
women in leadership positions, Nancy stated, “My background made me seek equal power, an
open door, so that these things can be discussed and negotiated . . . . How much of that is being
Armenian; how much of that is being a woman?”
Nina focuses her leadership on building up others who are less fortunate or have less
access to opportunities than she had. She believes that mentorship, an aspect of transformational
leadership, is a way to honor the legacy of her grandparents and all survivors of Armenian
genocide. Nina stated:
The educator in me makes me included to be a nurturing leader. If I can be a person that
paves the way for someone else who maybe doesn’t have connections or access in
particular then that’s also respecting the legacy of who we are and where we’ve been,
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 81
being appreciate of differences and respecting people as who they are, to create an equal
playing field. If I can be a person that paves the way for someone else who maybe
doesn’t have connections or access in particular then that’s also respecting the legacy of
who we are and where we’ve been, being appreciate of differences and respecting people
as who they are, to create an equal playing field.
Nina’s leadership style also reflects her identity as an “ambassador” of her cultural history. She
recognizes the ways that she continues the legacy of “strong women leadership” she has seen
modeled in her family and of using her position to help the marginalized as a way to honor her
family’s resilience as a marginalized people group, with a special emphasis on equality:
One of my mantras in terms of leadership is being tough but fair. The educator in me
makes me inclusive as a nurturing leader. If I can be a person that paves the way for
someone else who maybe doesn’t have connections or access in particular, then that’s
also respecting the legacy of who we are and where we’ve been, being appreciative of
differences and respecting people as who they are, to create an equal playing field.
Renee also believes that equality and equal access are culturally influenced, and she feels that
compared with how others in similar positions of leadership behave, her approach is uniquely
shaped from her identity and experiences. She stated:
It’s a unique Armenian cultural trait in which I see the world as being interconnected,
which maybe not all administrators do, because they don’t have the same perspective.
And the need for everybody to be heard. They all play and important role even if it’s very
different.
Wendy’s primary focus in her leadership role is to grow and inspire others to persevere. She
embodies the characteristic of resilience and encourages those she leads to work through
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difficulties and overcome obstacles. She said, “I like to grow people and lead tasks, be
inspirational. I do inspire people and motivate them, not to just do the job, but to carry on with
the job.” She summarized the meaning that Armenians in leadership positions make of their roles
of leadership:
It is true of Armenians, at any time we are given a task, we want to be leading. We want
to contribute. We don’t want just to be the outside people who just look. We want to be
engaged, carry on with what the task at hand is. And if we have to lead, we lead. I like to
grow people and lead tasks, be inspirational. I do inspire people and motivate them, not to
just do the job but to carry on with the job.
Alice’s leadership journey connects the theme of valuing the underprivileged and giving a voice
and empowering others to be invested in work they love with focusing on providing
opportunities, especially in leadership and underrepresented fields, and to grow and thrive. She
stated:
I think their sacrifices have enabled me to thrive. I think what has really helped me in my
leadership journey is their stories and their ability to connect on all levels. I’ve become
more inclusive. I always err on the side of the underprivileged and underrepresented. I
have this need and desire to get buy-in from the team.
Alice, like Cindy and Nancy, feels that her leadership style was influenced inter-generationally,
from her grandparents:
I think if you’re compassionate, you can get a lot done. And I think I learned this from
my grandparents. If you enable somebody, it’s more about attitude and ignorance. You
don’t have to have knowledge in an area to lead an organization. If you’re a good listener
and surround yourself with people that know, you will be successful.
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Although Amanda found herself in a leadership position unintentionally, a similar theme
emerged through her story as did through those of the other participants. Excellence in their field
led to external promotion rather than to becoming leaders via self-promotion. She connects her
ambition to be a leader to her family’s need to represent Armenians well after fleeing the
genocide and to be highly successful in a new place:
There was always a spirit that ‘oh, you want to do well. You know what I mean.
Especially in Iran, Armenians are well known for being good. I strive to do more always.’
So I think that, also when you challenge yourself, then it means that you are one step
higher, and now you become the leader. You become the spokesperson for the group, and
that already starts cultivating the future.
Integrated in each woman’s story is the overarching theme that the intergenerational transmission
of trauma and resilience present in the lives of the participants, their parents, and grandparents is
the way the knowledge of one’s cultural background and familial trauma plays a role in the ways
an individual makes meaning of his or her personality, career, and leadership style.

INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 84
Chapter 5: Conclusion
This chapter presents a study summary along with important conclusions drawn from the
data provided in Chapter 4. It offers an overview of the findings as related to the literature, a
discussion of the implications for action, and recommendations for further research.
Summary of Study
The history of the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, and other traumatic atrocities that
have occurred in our world have had lasting effects on their survivors and the on their
descendants. The intergenerational transmission of the trauma for descendants of Armenian
genocide survivors is a significant phenomenon to explore. The lack of research on the
intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience for descendants of Armenian genocide
survivors suggests a need for exploration of the ways in which the stories of survival have passed
down through generations and have played a role in the lives of today’s descendants. While
applying the concepts uncovered in the study of the Holocaust and intergenerational transmission
of trauma and resilience, this study addressed the lack of research on descendants of Armenian
genocide survivors and explored how the specific effects of intergenerational trauma and
resilience relate to Armenian women in university leadership positions. This study can bring
awareness, understanding, and opportunities for overcoming potential challenges passed down
through generations.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to discover the role intergenerational transmission of
trauma and resilience plays for women in university leadership positions who are descendants of
Armenian genocide survivors. This study sought to delineate the experiences of these women
through exploring signs of intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience from their
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 85
ancestors’ survival stories. It sought to bring to light the transmission of the trauma of these
women’s ancestors on the women’s personal and professional lives. It helped illustrate the
barriers these women overcame to achieve university leadership roles and the strategies the
women employed in pursuing career advancement, despite the barriers they faced as minorities,
as women in educational leadership, and as descendants of Armenian genocide survivors. —.
Highlighting the experience of these women through their narratives helped contribute to the
limited body of knowledge about the phenomenon of intergenerational transmission of trauma
and resilience specifically to women in university leadership positions who are descendants of an
Armenian genocide survivor. This research informed a little-known area of study and provides
other women with similar minority identities and backgrounds knowledge on how to build
resilience in overcoming obstacles and achieving their goals in leadership and career
advancement.
Research Questions
The following research questions were used to guide the study:
1. What role does the intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience play for
women in university leadership positions who are descendants of Armenian genocide
survivors?
2. What role does the intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience play in the
leadership styles of women in university leadership positions who are descendants of
Armenian genocide survivors?
3. What barriers have women in university leadership who are descendants of Armenian
genocide survivors faced due to the intergenerational transmission of trauma and
resilience these women have experienced?
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4. What strategies do women in university leadership positions who are descendants of
Armenian genocide survivors employ to overcome obstacles resulting from
intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience that affect achievement of
leadership positions?
Review of Methodology
The research design for this study was a qualitative purposeful sample study that used a
typical case study approach to identifying participants (Creswell, 2014). Due to the nature of the
information gathered, a qualitative study helped provide the deep and rich narrative for
Armenian women holding university leadership positions. The process of narrative inquiry
through interviews provided detailed accounts of their particular experiences. These descriptions
would not have been adequately represented through a quantitative conceptualization (Patton &
Patton, 2002). Additionally, the underrepresentation of Armenian women in leadership positions
would not allow for a large enough sample in which to conduct quantitative research and from
which to extrapolate accurate meaning.
The goal of the qualitative analysis is that participants share their individual experiences
and those of their ancestors. Semi-structured interviews helped facilitate a narrative analytic
research design to explain the ways that intergenerational transmission of trauma has affected the
leadership styles of descendants of the Armenian genocide who are women in leadership
positions. The interview questions were predetermined, but all questions were used flexibly and
explored without a rigid order or desire for a specific answer, in accordance with the theoretical
framework of narrative inquiry (Clandinin & Connelly, 2000; Merriam & Tisdell, 2016).
Major Findings
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A review of the findings of this study reflects themes from the literature of the
intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience, trauma of displacement, the value of
education as a means of survival, and the integration of transformational leadership as the style
of educational leadership for women descendants of Armenian genocide survivors. The findings
reflect the way each participant made meaning of her family’s genocide survival history for her
personal narrative and motivation toward leadership roles and career advancement. Each
woman’s narrative told what is known and unknown about her family’s survival, as many
survivors had not shared elements of their traumatic histories with their families.
Interwoven within their narratives and conceptualization is each participant’s personal
understanding of her identity in light of her family’s history. This theme was reflected in the
identity conflict of building self-esteem, overcoming a “victim” mentality, and demonstrating
resilience in overcoming displacement and familial burden-related trauma. In each woman’s
narrative, a form of family trauma, a demonstration of resilience, and a high value placed on
education were prominently mentioned and reflected on by the participants as being meaningful
to their personal and professional journeys. The connection between the trauma of displacement,
fleeing genocide, and migrating as a refugee to another culture and the value of education was a
predominant theme within the narratives. Emerging from this interaction between the
intergenerational transmission of trauma and the value of education was that education serves as
a means of survival, supporting the finding that hypervigilance is a symptom of intergenerational
transmission of trauma. The participants made clear that they need to be hypervigilant about
equipping themselves with knowledge should another traumatic experience, such as genocide,
occur again; education would provide a means of rebuilding and surviving again.
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These findings and others support research from the literature on the experiences of other
different, but similar groups and through this study have also been found significant for women
who are descendants of Armenian genocide survivors in leadership positions.
Findings Related to the Literature
The findings of this study have implications for the integration of the theories of
intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience and transformational leadership in the
narratives of women in educational leadership positions who are descendants of Armenian
genocide survivors.
Research on intergenerational trauma suggests that women adopt the trauma-related
symptoms of their mothers. In accordance with Vogel’s (1994) theory that females took on the
trauma-related symptoms of their moms more so than their fathers because of that bond, Cindy,
Renee, Nina, and Wendy all spoke of the special bond each had with her mother and
grandmother and the similarities within their stories of survival and grit. They recognized the
ways in which their mother’s mental health influenced the family dynamic. Often feeling the
need to compensate for their lack of ability to fulfill the role of motherhood in their homes, they
took on a strong role of leadership in their families, which then translated into assuming strong
leadership roles in their professional lives as well. Several women spoke about the way that
intergenerational trauma manifested into depression or helplessness in the lives of their mothers,
such as Renee’s experience, which left her accommodating and compensating for her mother’s
mental illness by being the caretaker of the family (Vogel, 1994).
Another by-product of trauma, in consonance with the literature, is the way in which
identity formation is affected by negative self-perception and self-esteem in descendants of
Armenian genocide survivors are reinforced (Danieli, 1998; Kellermann, 2001). Nancy
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recognized her family’s traumatic experience of surviving the genocide as triggering her own
insecurities and perpetuation of a victim mentality, reinforcing the negative beliefs that “I
deserve the negative things that have happened to me” (Kestenberg, 1982). Additionally, all of
the women cited an obstacle to achieving career advancement was belief in self and having high
levels of self-efficacy to believe they could achieve their goals. Many times, this support from a
family member was the catalyst to the women pursuing their endeavors, despite their fears.
Research has suggested that a primary component of intergenerational trauma is the
“conspiracy of silence” (Danieli, 1998) in which the traumatic experiences were never spoken of,
leaving descendants of genocide survivors with an anxiety about the unknown. Each woman
recognized this conspiracy in her own family history and shared that grandparents kept secret
traumas and pieces of their stories of genocide survival. The presence of the conspiracy of
silence led many of the women to pursue learning more about the genocide on their own, filling
in gaps of their story through further education, which also inspired their pursuits of careers in
education (Kalayjian & Weisberg, 2002). The conspiracy of silence also has instilled a sense of
shame in the lives of the descendants of Armenian genocide survivors. This shame has arisen
because, as Alice shared, the implicit presence of the pain and suffering of her grandparents was
a burden she felt she carried, but she also felt like she was unable to help or “take their suffering
away,” a common experience of descendants of Armenian genocide survivors (Vogel, 1994).
A core trait of trauma survivors is the presence of hypervigilance that can persist beyond
the incidences of trauma. All the women alluded to hypervigilance in their family stories and in
their own personalities in some measure. Amanda noticed this in her family’s persistent fear of
current events and of possible future reoccurrences of trauma. She recognized this as a form of
hypervigilance, staying constantly aware in case they should needed to flee for safety once again.
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This hypervigilance connects to the trauma of displacement that many researchers found as a
primary reason that trauma is triggered in the descendants of genocide survivors (Danieli, 1998;
Kellermann, 2001; Vogel, 1994). As Kalayjian and Weisberg (2002) found in their research on
Armenians in the diaspora, descendants of Armenian genocide survivors carried with them the
emotional trauma of genocide as they migrated. This meant that they never experienced the
opportunity to fully process the grief, loss, and devastating tragedies they had witnessed, as they
had to focus on moving forward and building a new future in a new place for their families.
As discussed in the literature, the pursuit of education is a cultural value for Armenians
because of what education has represented throughout Armenian history (Manoogian et al.,
2007; Wiseman & Barber, 2008). Education is viewed as valuable because it represents status,
honor, intelligence, and service to the community (Hovanissian, 1997; Wiseman & Barber,
2008). The participants of this study, all women descendants of Armenian genocide survivors,
acknowledged the ways in which the value of education they adopted from their parents and
grandparents helped inspire their career paths. The additional layer of the importance of
knowledge and education of the topic of the genocide itself specifically provides context for the
importance of general education. The emphasis on spreading education about the genocide
influenced their identity as “ambassadors” and educators of the genocide, their culture, and their
history in general. Education served as the vehicle through which these women learned about
their culture, their families’ histories, and themselves.
The theory of intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience suggests that in
addition to the ways in which trauma is experienced and understood by future generations,
resilience, as a psychological construct, is also passed down through generations from those who
have survived genocide (Danieli, 1998; Kellermann, 2001, Peroomian, 2003). The study’s
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participants spoke of the ways their family overcame obstacles related to genocide and
displacement. They equated their personal experiences requiring resilience to achieve leadership
positions with the experiences of their families in surviving the genocide and displacement.
Resilience was modeled through the rebuilding of their families’ lives after the genocide, which
each woman interviewed cited as a motivating factor in pursuing career advancement and
leadership roles.
In accordance with research on transformational leadership, ethnic minorities tend to
adopt a nurturing, inclusive, dynamic, engaging, and inspiring leadership style known as
“transformational leadership” (Ardichvili, Mitchell, & Jondle, 2009). Transformational
leadership is a leadership style that draws on personal values to promote positive and
inspirational change throughout an organization, through modeling, connection to the mission,
and focus on personal development (Burns, 1978). As ethnic minorities who have experienced
the trauma of displacement, along with their identity as minorities as women in leadership, the
women in this study exemplified the leadership style of transformational leadership in that they
reflected the importance of inclusion, equality, empathy, and the infusion of meaning and
community into their workplaces and roles. Each woman spoke of the ways in which her
family’s survival story helped shape her own personal leadership style and value in educational
leadership.
Conclusions
The conclusions drawn from the results and findings of this study, as framed by the
research questions, are found below.
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 92
Research Question 1: What role does the intergenerational transmission of trauma and
resilience play for women in university leadership positions who are descendants of
Armenian genocide survivors?
Through the themes that emerged from the narratives of the study’s participants, I found
that the role of intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience was an integral part of
their personal identities and professional leadership styles. The women spoke of how
intergenerational transmission of trauma materialized in the way they observed their parents and
grandparents navigate through displacement, discrimination, and mental illness. The presence of
psychological phenomena common to the experience of descendants of genocide survivors, such
as hypervigilance, depression, low self- esteem, and disengagement from community (Danieli,
1998; Kellermann, 2001) indicated the intergenerational transmission of trauma that the women
experienced in the lives of their parents, grandparents, and themselves. The conspiracy of silence
(Danieli, 1998) was apparent throughout the participants’ narratives, which recalled the
participants’ experience living with the lack of knowledge about their families’ experiences. As a
component of the intergenerational transmission of trauma, living with what was unknown about
their families’ genocide survival stories truly influenced the participants’ focus on education as a
means to discover what was unknown.
The participants’ narratives reflected each participant’s personal interpretation and
meaning-making of her parents and grandparents’ processing of trauma, while also focusing on
the resilience that helped them overcome the traumas they had experienced. Each participant
made meaning of her family’s resilience and built on this through her own ability to persevere in
hard times. They all cited their individual family’s encouragement, support, and internal strength
when faced with challenges. Each narrative communicated a strong sense of inspiration that
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participants felt from their ancestors’ survival and perseverance. This inspiration served as a
motivating factor in persisting through challenges in their careers, whether facing glass ceilings
as women in leadership or enduring discrimination because of displacement or language barriers.
They believed that if their ancestors could overcome such traumas, some of which were too
painful for them to be spoken of, then they too could push through difficult times, be successful
and, ultimately, survive.
Research Question 2: What role does the intergenerational transmission of trauma and
resilience play in the leadership styles of women in university leadership positions who are
descendants of Armenian genocide survivors?
The intersection of intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience with the
prominent leadership style of these participants, characterized as “transformational leadership,”
proved to be a theme throughout the participants’ journey to taking on leadership roles. Because
of the traumas of genocide and displacement that their families experienced, the women shared
the ways in which their families’ experiences of overcoming difficulties and discrimination
shaped the way they lead.
The value of education as providing a means of survival is interwoven within these
narratives and also illustrates the leadership style as transformational, in that the women believed
in the importance of education as a mechanism for rebuilding in case another atrocity such as the
genocide were to reoccur. This underscores the way transformational leadership is infused in
their leadership styles because their ability to inspire, their willingness to be servant leaders on
the frontlines alongside their teams, and their belief in the way education can transform lives all
align with each woman’s experience of her family’s trauma and the resilience needed to rebuild.
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 94
Research Question 3: What barriers do women in university leadership positions who are
descendants of Armenian genocide survivors face due to the intergenerational transmission
of trauma and resilience?
The process of discovering the influence of intergenerational transmission of trauma and
resilience included an exploration of the barriers women in university leadership positions who
are descendants of Armenian genocide survivors faced in achieving leadership positions. The
study’s participants experienced both internal and external barriers in the personal journeys to
leadership roles. The common internal barriers these women faced in their career advancement
included low self-esteem, lack of belief in individual abilities and potential, and personal conflict
between expectations of filling the role of Armenian women and the desire for career
advancement that could influence their Armenian identity and expected role fulfillment. These
internal barriers are consistent with what the studies on intergenerational transmission of trauma
have suggested are common to descendants of genocide survivors. Studies have indicated that
impairment of self-esteem results from anxiety and feelings of over-identification with familial
trauma (Lehrner & Yehuda, 2018).
The study’s participants also experienced external barriers in their pursuit of educational
leadership, including discrimination due to language barriers; identity as a multiple minority for
women in leadership, specifically women interviewed in STEM fields; and conflicting demands
of familial responsibilities and career demands along with familial disapproval of career choices
and advancement in career instead of pursuit of a more traditional role in the family. These
external barriers were reflected on by participants as parts of their journeys, similar to barriers
that their parents and grandparents experience but are significantly different as well.
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 95
Research Question 4: What strategies do women in university leadership positions who are
descendants of Armenian genocide survivors employ to overcome obstacles resulting from
intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience that affect achievement of
leadership positions?
As a response to the question regarding what barriers the participants in the study faced,
the women used similar strategies to overcome these obstacles. Themes that emerged through the
discussion of these strategies included drawing on inspiration from ancestors with a common
sentiment that “if they survived everything they did to give us life and bring us here, then we can
overcome whatever obstacle we face.” Additionally, drawing strength and support from
resources and community is a valuable strategy the study’s participants all recognized as being
integral to their journeys to achieving leadership and their leadership styles. The cultural
importance of community and networking helped them move past the internal and external
obstacles keeping them from leadership. Additionally, familial history of genocide survival
helped enforce the belief that others can be helpful and that there is always an opportunity to
connect, despite barriers of language, differences in cultural backgrounds, and lack of
opportunity. The use of internal and external resources proved to be valuable to each
participant’s ability to overcome obstacles and to thrive in leadership positions with an attitude
of inclusion, a spirit of perseverance, and an unwavering belief that the work they do, in
education and helping invest in people’s lives, is meaningful.
Implications for Action
The results and findings of this study imply the need for action and implementation of the
themes and lessons learned from the participants’ stories. I have inferred through this study
implications for action that might have a significant impact on Armenian women pursuing or
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currently in educational leadership positions who are descendants of Armenian genocide
survivors.
Implementation of Mentorship
Throughout the narratives of the study’s participants, the desire for and benefit of being
mentored in their journeys was evident and proved useful in achieving leadership positions.
Strong female role models can help other women who are descendants of Armenian genocide
survivors learn and gain support as they navigate the challenges related to intergenerational
transmission of trauma. Several study participants expressed their desire to help other women in
their pursuit of leadership drawing on the shared cultural value of community. Armenian women
leaders, or aspiring leaders, could benefit from creating a support network whereby they could
provide mentorship and be mentored. There could be an emphasis on understanding the role of
their family history in creating their internal barriers and the ways they can harness inner
resilience to achieve their goals and gain leadership positions.
Implementation of Leadership Training Programs
Moreover, the study’s participants reflected on their paths to leadership and the absence
of any training or guidance. Instead, their success was a byproduct of hard work and
happenstance, drawn from the combination of various experiences, skills, and dedication to a
cause. The results and findings suggest that leadership training programs for youth and women
who are descendants of Armenian genocide survivors would be a helpful resource for navigating
the specific cultural components that might influence the path to leadership. Training programs
that provide skills and strategies to use within educational institutions—that can be replicated for
other industries—can help address the specific challenges that might arise due to the
intergenerational transmission of trauma and provide ways to specifically address the low self-
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 97
esteem, over-identification with parental stress and expectations, and low self-confidence in the
ability to achieve leadership goals.
Mental Health Resources/Services for Aspiring Leaders
Because of the influence of familial mental health struggles experienced by descendants
of Armenian genocide survivors, aspiring leaders who are descendants of Armenian genocide
survivors would benefit from additional mental health resources that can specifically address
their experiences. Little is known about intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience,
and the knowledge and support from community mental health resources could help descendants
of genocide and other historical trauma survivors navigate internal and external barriers to
achieving career advancement, reflected in the low numbers of women in educational leadership
positions who are descendants of Armenian genocide survivors. The narratives of the study’s
participants suggest that resources that emphasize the processing of familial trauma, addressing
the “conspiracy of silence” about the unknown components of survivor stories and the awareness
of the way individuals make meaning of their families’ experiences, would all be appropriate
themes to address in the provision of such mental health services.
Recommendations for Further Research
The intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience for descendants of Armenian
genocide survivors has not previously been studied or explored. In light of the themes discovered
through this study, it is important to extrapolate from previous research on Holocaust survivors’
descendants to learn more about how intergenerational trauma can play a role in the personal and
professional development of women in leadership positions—specifically for women in
leadership roles in a university setting. Due to the nature of the narrative study, the data were
extracted from qualitative, semi-structured interviews to truly illustrate the richness of the
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 98
intergenerational accounts, specifically the ways in which these women perceived their
ancestors’ experiences and made meaning of these survival stories for their own lives. Future
researchers interested in exploring this topic further might consider understanding the ways
women who are descendants of Armenian genocide survivors make meaning of the
intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience in fields outside of educational
leadership. In addition, future studies could build on the themes uncovered in this study to
investigate the phenomena, using a different methodology, such as quantitative studies once an
increased number of descendants of Armenian genocide survivors in leadership positions has
been reached.
The frame of this study was intentionally structured to focus on the identity of women in
educational leadership positions because of the emphasis on exploring the cultural value of
education and the experience of women as a multiple minority—as women in leadership
positions and as Armenians/descendants of genocide survivors. Additionally, a different
demographic could be explored. It would not restrict gender or career/position of leadership. The
study could also explore the experiences of various people and groups, such as greater
exploration of descendants of Holocaust survivors, the Native American population, and the
intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience within descendants of the African
American slave trade, as well as survivors of the genocides in Darfur and Rwanda.
Further research that explores this topic through these lenses and others will be beneficial
to explaining the ways in which internal and external barriers to achieving leadership roles are
experienced due to the intergenerational trauma. In addition, the ways that intergenerational
resilience can be drawn on to overcome challenging experiences and to help create more
leadership and career advancement opportunities can be explored. Implications from this
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 99
extended body of knowledge could help reduce the gap of representation for specific ethnicities,
increase the opportunity for equal representation, and help diversify organizations in meaningful
ways, recognizing and developing these individuals’ valuable skills and traits and creating
productive change in these individuals’ families, in organizations, and in our world.
Concluding Remarks
This research study used the methodology of narrative inquiry to explore the experiences
of seven women who are descendants of Armenian genocide survivors in university leadership
positions. The research questions helped uncover the role of intergenerational transmission of
trauma and resilience in the women’s personal and professional development as educational
leaders. The questions also helped identify the barriers common to women who are descendants
of Armenian genocide survivors and leaders along with the strategies used to overcome internal
and external barriers to achieve positions of leadership. A number of conclusions emerged
through the exploration of these questions. They include the role of intergenerational
transmission of trauma and resilience for descendants of the Armenian genocide as well as the
conspiracy of silence and what is “not known” about their stories, the trauma of displacement,
the theme of education as survival, the resource of resilience, and the leadership style of
transformational leadership that emerged throughout these women’s narratives.
The internal and external barriers that women in educational leadership positions who are
descendants of Armenian genocide survivors recounted signify the ways in which these women
have made meaning of their families’ genocide survival stories and how they have harnessed
resilience to help them overcome barriers and succeed in their positions. Their experiences have
revealed the importance of implementing mentorship programs, providing training, and offering
additional mental health resources for others who have experienced intergenerational
INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 100
transmission of trauma and resilience from the historical trauma of their families.
Recommendations for further research include expanding the demographic of the population
studied to include men and women and expanding the industries and positions beyond only those
in university leadership roles. In addition, the exploration of this theme within other groups of
people who have experienced historical trauma could provide an opportunity for richer
exploration of the ways in which intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience can be
understood. This could help individuals descended from genocide survivors to thrive personally
and professionally and achieve positions of leadership in which they can transform institutions
and organizations and help bring about growth and organizational change.

INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 101
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Appendix
Research Question Interview Question Type of Question

What role does the
intergenerational
transmission of trauma
and resilience play for
women in university
leadership positions
who are descendants of
Armenian genocide
survivors?

Can you start by telling me
about your family history as
an Armenian?
How do you feel your family
history affected your career
choices?
Tell me about your family’s
genocide survival history.

How do you feel your
family’s genocide history has
affected you personally?

Do you perceive any negative
effects from your family’s
history of trauma as
influencing your mental
health? If so, can you tell me
about them?

Experience

Opinion/belief question
(Interpretive)

Experience

Opinion/belief question
(Interpretive)

Opinion/belief question
(Interpretive)
What role does the
intergenerational
transmission of trauma
and resilience play in
the leadership styles of
women in university
leadership positions
who are descendants of
Armenian genocide
survivors?

How would you describe your
leadership style?
What factors influenced your
leadership style?
How do you feel your family
history affected your
leadership style?

Experience/Interpretive

Opinion/belief question
(Interpretive)
Opinion/belief question
(Interpretive)

What barriers do
women in university
leadership positions
who are descendants of
Armenian genocide
survivors face due to
the intergenerational
transmission of trauma
and resilience?

What external obstacles have
you faced in achieving your
current position/career?

What internal psychological
obstacles did you have to
overcome to achieve your
current position?

Experience

Experience/Opinion
(Interpretive)

Hypothetical

INTERGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF TRAUMA & LEADERSHIP 115
Some people would say that
obstacles are self-imposed
and anyone, no matter the
family history of trauma or
gender, can achieve whatever
position is sought in life.
What would you tell these
people?
Do you feel that your family
history of trauma from the
genocide is related to the
obstacles you faced in
pursuing your career goals?

Opinion/Belief Question
(Interpretive)
What strategies do women
in university leadership
positions who are
descendants of Armenian
genocide survivors
employ to overcome
obstacles resulting from
intergenerational
transmission of trauma
and resilience that affect
achievement of leadership
positions?
What strategies did you
utilize to overcome the
external obstacles you faced
in achieving your current
position/career?

What strategies did you
utilize to overcome the
internal obstacles you faced in
achieving your current
position/career?

Do you feel that your family
history/genocide survival
story influenced your ability
to overcome the obstacles you
faced in career advancement?

Experience/Opinion
(Interpretive)

Experience/Opinion
(Interpretive)

Experience/Opinion
(Interpretive)

Abstract (if available)

Abstract The study’s purpose is to uncover the role of the intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience on women in university leadership positions who are descendants of Armenian genocide survivors. This study intended to explore the following questions: a) What role does intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience play for women in university leadership positions who are descendants of Armenian genocide survivors? b) What role does intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience play in the leadership styles of women in university leadership positions who are descendants of Armenian genocide survivors? c) What barriers do women in university leadership positions who are descendants of Armenian genocide survivors face due to the intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience? d) What strategies do women in university leadership positions who are descendants of Armenian genocide survivors employ to overcome obstacles resulting from intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience that affect achievement of leadership positions? This study used narrative inquiry through qualitative interviews with women in university leadership positions who were second- or third-generation descendants of Armenian genocide survivors.

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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

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Asset Metadata

Creator Tcharkhoutian, Christine (author)

Core Title Shattering the glass ceiling of genocide: discovering the role of the intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience among women in university leadership positions who are descendants of...

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 05/10/2019

Defense Date 02/28/2019

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag Armenian genocide,Armenian Studies,Educational Leadership,intergenerational transmission of trauma and resilience,leadership,OAI-PMH Harvest,Psychology

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Cash, David (committee chair), Castruita, Rudy (committee member), Cooper, Christy (committee member)

Creator Email tcharkho@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-156131

Unique identifier UC11660966

Identifier etd-Tcharkhout-7438.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-156131 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-Tcharkhout-7438.pdf

Dmrecord 156131

Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Tcharkhoutian, Christine

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA