Does everyone have a name? Psychological distress and quality of life among child holocaust survivors with lost identity

Knowing one's identity, name, and biological parents is considered essential to personality development and psychological well-being. This study assessed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, subjective quality of life (QoL), psychological distress, and potency in a group of adults who were children during the Holocaust (child Holocaust survivors) and who did not know their true identity. Twenty-three such survivors were compared to 23 child Holocaust survivors who knew their identity. Results showed that survivors with lost identity had lower physical, psychological, and social QoL and higher somatization, depression, and anxiety scores than did survivors with known identity. The findings suggest that the psychological consequences of not knowing one's identity are long-lasting.