Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Exposure to traumatic events and situations is increasingly common, especially in some environments. The estimated lifetime prevalence of PTSD in the general U.S. population ranges from 1 percent to 14 percent (American Psychiatric Association 1994). Rose Giaconia and colleagues (1995) found that by the age of eighteen years, more than two-fifths of youths in a community sample had been exposed to trauma severe enough to qualify for diagnosis, and over 6 percent met criteria for a lifetime diagnosis of PTSD. Co-morbid conditions are common with PTSD. They include anxiety, somatization (when psychological distress is translated to physical complaints or ailments), and substance-use disorders (American Psychiatric Association 1994; Giaconia et al. 1995).