Persistent stress often leads to impaired performance and stress-related health problems, sometimes lingering even after the stressor has been terminated. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the most dramatic examples of the aftereffects of stress.

You have been asked to prepare a brief presentation on PTSD that focuses on different theoretical views of the disorder and the controversy surrounding its increased prevalence. Answer the following questions to organize your presentation.

1. How would a researcher working from the bio/psycho/social perspective explain PTSD? What are some of the specific biological, psychological, and social factors in the disorder?

2. How would a researcher working within the diathesis-stress model explain PTSD? What are some of the specific predisposing and precipitating factors in PTSD?

3. How would a researcher working within the field of psycho/neuro/immunology explain PTSD? What are some possible mind-body pathways to the disorder?

4. What evidence supports those who claim that PTSD is a genuine condition that is triggered by a traumatic event?

5. What evidence supports skeptics who claim that PTSD is at least partly a cultural or social phenomenon?