Expanding Criterion A for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Considering the Deleterious Impact of Oppression

The latest edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th edition) includes edits to Criterion A for posttraumatic stress disorder in an attempt to capture a wide variety of potentially traumatic events. However, despite criticism by scholars in the field (e.g., Kira, 2001; Gilfus, 1999; Helms, Nicolas, & Green, 2012) and overwhelming evidence documenting the negative impact of oppression on the mental health of its targets (e.g., Carter, 2007), the way in which Criterion A is written fails to include the insidious trauma of oppression. There is a small but compelling literature base that has demonstrated oppression to be a form of trauma by examining the relationship among various forms of oppression (e.g., racism, sexism, heterosexism) and trauma-related symptoms (e.g., Alessi, Martin, Gyamerah, & Meyer, 2013; Berg, 2006; Pieterse, Carter, Evans, & Walter, 2010). The authors make a case for expanding the current definition of Criterion A to incorporate the full range of oppressive forces by providing empirical support demonstrating the relationship between experiences of oppression and trauma-related outcomes and by arguing that this change is appropriately political and consistent with social justice values held by psychology.