Conflict between current knowledge about post-traumatic stress disorder and original conceptual basis

Abstract

<h4>Objective</h4>The author's goal was to explore the historical, political, and social forces that have played a major role in the acceptance of the idea of trauma as a cause of the specific symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and to discuss the impact that current research findings have had on some of the initial conceptualizations of the disorder.<h4>Method</h4>The conceptual origins of PTSD are described, and the literature on the prevalence, longitudinal course, phenomenology, and neurobiology of PTSD is reviewed.<h4>Results</h4>Paradoxically, there are a series of findings that support the idea that PTSD is a distinct diagnostic entity, but these are different from those originally developed from psychosocial theory and stress research.<h4>Conclusions</h4>PTSD has been a controversial diagnosis and is again at a vulnerable point. It is imperative that the field address how current findings challenge the original conceptualizations of this disorder so that the next generation of conceptual issues can be formulated.