CONCEPTUALIZING “CONTINUOUS TRAUMATIC STRESS”: FROM EXPERIENCING PROLONGED VIOLENCE TO LONG-TERM WAR TRAUMA

Abstract

The article examines the concept of «continuous traumatic stress» in the context of the psychological consequences of experiencing continuous violence and the impact of war. The key characteristics of continuous traumatic stress, its manifestations, implications for mental health, and key differences in comparison with the concepts of post-traumatic stress disorder and complex post-traumatic stress disorder are considered. Given the new challenges in defining the terminology of psychological conditions experienced by people during war, there is a need to specify and operationalize concepts that clearly define them.

The article also analyses studies of the experience of continuous traumatic stress in war trauma and the differentiation of the symptom complex about gender differences. It is noted that indicators of emotional numbness and increased anxiety demonstrated the highest power centrality. The conceptual matrix of differential features of the concepts of «continuous traumatic stress», «post-traumatic stress disorder», and «complex post-traumatic stress disorder» is compiled.

The definition of prolonged traumatic stress is substantiated by the leading scientific empirical studies of this condition in countries with a high level of constant threats.