The Facts
Post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is a new name for a very old condition. Earlier in this century it was known as "shell shock" or "battle fatigue." Before then, it had no name. In PTSD, a witness or victim of a terrible event or tragedy is so haunted by memories of the event that personal health and personality is affected.
Research suggests that as many as 10% of the population will be affected at one time in their life with PTSD. Women are twice as likely to be affected as men. The specific type of trauma is important in the gender distribution. For example, 20% to 30% of women exposed to a physical attack or threatened with a weapon develop PTSD while only 2% of men will develop PTSD if exposed to the same trauma. However, 20% of women who are sexually assaulted develop PTSD, while 65% of men who are sexually assaulted develop PTSD. While 50% of the population is exposed to severe trauma at sometime during their life, less than 20% of these individuals will develop PTSD.
Causes
The kinds of events that can trigger PTSD were traditionally limited to the most violent and frightening situations, such as being involved in a plane crash, a shooting, or the collapse of a building after an earthquake or bomb. The main source of such trauma is war, and in North America the largest category of PTSD sufferers are Vietnam War veterans. Much of what we know about this syndrome comes from studies involving former soldiers.
More recently, the definition has broadened. People who suffer rape or physical or sexual abuse may react in much the same way as those who have witnessed carnage or been threatened by violent death. In this context, PTSD among children has become a major focus because they are particularly likely to develop the symptoms associated with this condition.
