review · European journal of psychotraumatology
Most people across the world experience events that could be considered traumatic, leading to diverse mental and physical health challenges beyond posttraumatic stress disorder. A review of research over the past fifteen years shows that underlying risk and resilience are influenced by genetic, molecular, and neurobiological factors. In addition, the manifestation and course of symptoms depend heavily on age, sex, gender, and broader sociocultural and political environments. While treatment approaches, including psychological therapies, pharmacological options, and complementary interventions, are well established alongside new delivery methods, research into early prevention remains comparatively limited. Early interventions delivered within hours or weeks of an event have the capacity to stop acute stress responses from developing into full clinical disorders. Addressing these global health outcomes requires adapting practices to encompass diverse life stages and non-Western populations.
Trauma impacts a vast majority of the global population, affecting physical and mental health throughout life. Understanding how trauma operates across different age groups, genders, and non-Western cultures helps healthcare providers and policymakers tailor interventions effectively. Prioritising early prevention can reduce long-term psychological disability before severe disorders become entrenched.
The review highlights potential applications in early intervention protocols, novel treatment delivery models, and pharmacological or complementary therapies for healthcare providers and clinical services. These tools span early-stage preventative approaches to applied, evidence-based treatments currently in use. Opportunities exist to adapt existing psychological therapies and digital or community delivery mechanisms for diverse, non-Western populations and across different age demographics.
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To mark 15 years of the European Journal of Psychotraumatology, editors reviewed the past 15-year years of research on trauma exposure and its consequences, as well as developments in (early) psychological, pharmacological and complementary interventions. In all sections of this paper, we provide perspectives on sex/gender aspects, life course trends, and cross-cultural/global and systemic societal contexts. Globally, the majority of people experience stressful events that may be characterized as traumatic. However, definitions of what is traumatic are not necessarily straightforward or universal. Traumatic events may have a wide range of transdiagnostic mental and physical health consequences, not limited to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Research on genetic, molecular, and neurobiological influences show promise for further understanding underlying risk and resilience for trauma-related consequences. Symptom presentation, prevalence, and course, in response to traumatic experiences, differ depending on individuals' age and developmental phase, sex/gender, sociocultural and environmental contexts, and systemic socio-political forces. Early interventions have the potential to prevent acute posttraumatic stress reactions from escalating to a PTSD diagnosis whether delivered in the golden hours or weeks after trauma. However, research on prevention is still scarce compared to treatment research where several evidence-based psychological, pharmacological and complementary/ integrative interventions exist, and novel forms of delivery have become available. Here, we focus on how best to address the range of negative health outcomes following trauma, how to serve individuals across the age spectrum, including the very young and old, and include considerations of sex/gender, ethnicity, and culture in diverse contexts, beyond Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD) countries. We conclude with providing directions for future research aimed at improving the well-being of all people impacted by trauma around the world. The <i>15 years EJPT webinar</i> provides a 90-minute summary of this paper and can be downloaded here [http://bit.ly/4jdtx6k].
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DOI: 10.1080/20008066.2025.2458406
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