CONFLICT BETWEEN CURRENT KNOWLEDGE ABOUT POSTTRAUMATIC-STRESS-DISORDER AND ITS ORIGINAL CONCEPTUAL BASIS

Objective: The authors' 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 posttraumati c stress disorder (PTSD) and to discuss the impact that current resear ch findings have had on some of the initial conceptualizations of the disorder. Method: The conceptual origins of PTSD ave described, and th e literature on the prevalence, longitudinal course, phenomenology, an d neurobiology of PTSD is reviewed. Results: Paradoxically, there are a series of findings that support the idea that PTSD is a distinct dia gnostic entity, but these are different from those originally develope d from psychosocial theory and stress research. Conclusions: PTSD has been a controversial diagnosis and is again at a vulnerable point. it is imperative that the field address how current findings challenge th e original conceptualizations of this disorder so that the next genera tion of conceptual issues cart be formulated.