Trauma Classification in the DSM: An Analysis of Its Conceptual Evolution and the Role of PTSD

Abstract

Psychological trauma has become a major concept in mental health, yet its classification has changed substantially across editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). This study examined the conceptual evolution of trauma classification across eight DSM editions, from DSM-I (1952) through DSM-5-TR (2022), with particular attention to the role of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Using a corpus-assisted diachronic design, frequency, concordance, and collocation analyses were combined with qualitative close reading to examine four dimensions of trauma-related language: semantic framing, diagnostic classification, etiological framing, and temporal framing. Results demonstrated a broad shift from physical and neurological uses of trauma terminology toward increasingly psychological, event-related, and diagnostic meanings. Trauma-related classification also progressed from general, temporary reaction-based formulations toward more structured diagnostic criteria specifying qualifying events, symptom patterns, duration, and functional impairment. External traumatic events and routes of exposure became increasingly explicit, while temporal descriptions shifted from qualitative expectations of rapid recovery toward formal duration requirements and specifiers. Emotional responses also changed in diagnostic function across editions, moving between descriptive features, symptom criteria, and diagnostic-entry requirements. PTSD represented a major turning point in this development by formally linking traumatic exposure with defined symptoms and temporal requirements. The findings provide measurable textual evidence that DSM trauma classification became increasingly standardized, event-linked, and multidimensional over time.

Date of Award	2026
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	Eastern Illinois University
Supervisor	JungSu Oh (Supervisor)