What is a trauma?
Trauma literally means wound, injury, or shock” In psychological terms, “traumatic events” have traditionally been considered those that harm the psychological integrity of an individual. A given stressful event is not traumatic in itself, but may be so in its effect on a particular individual. Thus not every individual who experiences an extremely stressful event will actually be traumatized, although some types of events are so extreme that they are likely to be traumatizing to most people. Approximately 10% to 25% of adults who are exposed to an extreme stressor may develop simple acute stress disorder and PTSD (Breslau, 2001; Kessler et al., 1995; Yehuda, 2002). Researchers are attempting to determine what makes some individuals more vulnerable to the damaging impact of trauma, and what factors help foster resiliency. It appears that both aspects of the traumatic event, the context in which the event takes place, and individual characteristics influence the person’s risk for develo
