Research on the Impact of Military Trauma: Current Status and Future Directions

Abstract

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have absorbed our attention both as citizens and professionals. A new generation of veterans may be at risk for life course disturbances implicated by exposure to war-zone stressors and adversities. I describe these new conflicts and use this as a backdrop to review the state of the field with respect to military trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder, early intervention, and risk and resilience research. Throughout, I offer recommendations for future research.