A systematic evaluation of the ethnocultural aspects of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Leaders in the field of PTSD research and practice explore both universal and culture-specific reactions to trauma and discuss implications for research, treatment and prevention.

In recent years, the concept of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has captured the attention and concern of clinicians and scientists, and reactions to traumatic stress have been extensively studied. But are such reactions universal? Although the PTSD diagnosis is now used internationally, it is by no means clear whether it is meaningful across cultures and ethnic groups. Most of the research and clinical experience validating the diagnosis has been carried out in Western industrialized nations, and some clinicians have raised the question of ethnocentric bias in its formulation. This volume presents a systematic evaluation of ethnocultural aspects of PTSD. Leaders in the field of PTSD research and practice explore both universal and culture-specific reactions to trauma and discuss implications for research, treatment and prevention. This multidisciplinary perspective should be useful to a broad audience of psychologists, psychiatrists, anthropologists, epidemiologists, sociologists and social workers.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: An Overview of the Concept - Matthew J. Friedman and Anthony J. Marsella - The Epidemiology of PTSD: A Comprehensive Review of the International Literature - Giovanni de Girolamo and Alexander C. McFarlane - The Treatment of PTSD and Related Stress Disorders: Current Research and Clinical Knowledge - Ellen T. Gerrity and Susan D. Solomon - Ethnocultural Aspects of PTSD: An Overview of Issues and Research Directions - Anthony J. Marsella, Matthew J. Friedman, and E. Huland Spain - Confusion of the Senses: Implications of Ethnocultural Variations in Somatoform and Dissociative Disorders for PTSD - Laurence J. Kirmayer - Culture, Emotion, and PTSD - Janice H. Jenkins - Ethnocultural Considerations in the Assessment of PTSD - Terence M. Keane, Danny G. Kaloupek, and Frank W. Weathers - PTSD Among African Americans - Irving M. Allen - Cumulative Trauma in American Indian Communities - Robert W. Robin, Barbara Chester, and David Goldman - Wounded Spirits, Ailing Hearts: PTSD and Related Disorders Among American Indians - Spero Manson, Janette Beals, Theresa O'Nell, Joan Plasecki, Donald Bechtold, Ellen Keane, and Monica Jones - Traumatization Stress Among Asians and Asian Americans - Francis R. Abueg and Kevin M. Chun - PTSD and Related Disorders Among Hispanics - Richard L. Hough, Glorisa J. Canino, Francis R. Abueg, and Fred D. Gusman - Cross-national and Ethnocultural Issues in Disaster Research - Bonnie L. Green - Women of Color and Traumatic Stress in "Domestic Captivity": Gender and Race as Disempowering Statuses - Maria P. Root - Ethnocultural Aspects of PTSD and Related Disorders Among Children and Adolescents - Vincenzo F. DiNicola - Ethnocultural Considerations in Understanding PTSD and Related Disorders Among Military Veterans - William Schlenger and John Fairbank - A Multicultural Developmental Approach for Treating Trauma - Fred D. Gusman, Judith Stewart, Bruce Hiley Young, Sherry J. Riney, Francis R. Abueg, and Dudley David Blake - Ethnocultural Considerations in the Treatment of PTSD: Therapy and Service Delivery - Juris G. Draguns - Ethnocultural Variations in Service Use Among Veterans Suffering From PTSD - Robert Rosenheck and Alan Fontana - Ethnopsychopharmacology and the Treatment of PTSD - Keh-Ming Lin, Russell E. Poland, Dora Anderson, and Ira M. Lesser - Ethnocultural Aspects of PTSD: Some Closing Thoughts - Anthony J. Marsella, Matthew J. Friedman, Ellen T. Gerrity, and Raymond M. Scurfield