Using an oral history approach to understand perspectives of intergenerational trauma in African American women.

This brief report explores how African American women describe the intergenerational transmission of trauma and its perceived influence on stress and cardiometabolic health. Using an Oral History approach, semi-structured interviews were analyzed from participants in the parent HARMONY study. Analytic themes spanned work-life imbalance, medical racism, hypervigilance, reproductive autonomy, and physical safety. Women described balancing "controlled emotions" and "controlled actions" to navigate relationships and maintain bodily control. Although findings are preliminary and non-generalizable, they highlight the value of integrating oral history, life-course, and psychobiological perspectives to inform culturally responsive interventions addressing cycles of embodied harm.