Aida Dias, Luísa Sales

Background

Portugal was involved in a colonial war between 1961 and 1975 in the African continent. Around one million Portuguese soldiers fought in Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea‐Bissau for thirteen years. As in the Vietnam War, the children of Portuguese soldiers lived in a different country and continent, away from a war scenario, and in different times. They became aware of the war through their fathers' eyes.

In 1918, CitationMacCurdy identified, for the first time, “war combat reaction” in soldiers. Bearing in mind that mental health disease in a member can disrupt family functioning and lead to psychopathology in their relatives, it is highly probable that disturbed military staff can transmit suffering to spouses and children.