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Post‐traumatic stress disorder without the trauma
Author(s) -
Scott Michael J.,
Stradling Stephen G.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
british journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.479
H-Index - 92
eISSN - 2044-8260
pISSN - 0144-6657
DOI - 10.1111/j.2044-8260.1994.tb01095.x
Subject(s) - psychology , arousal , stressor , acute stress disorder , psychosocial , traumatic stress , posttraumatic stress , clinical psychology , anxiety disorder , psychiatry , psychotherapist , anxiety , neuroscience
Examples are reported of PTSD cases showing full symptomatology (intrusive imagery, avoidance behaviour, disordered arousal) in the absence of a single, acute, dramatic trauma of the kind required by the current DSM‐III‐R definition. Such trauma is thus not a necessary condition for PTSD, and other evidence shows it to be not a sufficient condition. It is suggested that the DSM‐III‐R Axis IV distinction between acute and enduring psychosocial stressors be incorporated into the definition to distinguish two pathways to stress disorder, post‐traumatic (PTSD) and prolonged duress (PDSD). Differential treatment implications of the two routes are noted.