Define trauma, crisis, and disaster. Discuss how they are unique from one another.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Trauma – Used to refer to “negative events that produce distress and to the distress itself” (Briere & Scott, 2006, p. 3) and “exposure to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violence” (APA, 2013) including direct and indirect experience of the traumatic event as well as repeated experience of extreme exposure to the traumatic events. Trauma can impact an individual’s psychological, biological, and sociological functioning and well-being.

Crisis – There are two definitions, each of which are tied to context. In the context of a system, it is defined as “an unstable or crucial time or state of affairs in which a decisive change is impending; especially: one with the distinct possibility of a highly undesirable outcome a financial crisis” (Webster’s dictionary, n.d.). In the context of individuals it is defined as “a temporary state of upset and disorganization, characterized chiefly by an individual’s inability to cope with a particular situation using customary methods of problem solving and by the potential for radically positive or negative outcome” (Caplan, 1964). A crisis is not considered an event, rather events cause crisis.

Disaster – “an” impending or occurring event that is destructive enough to dislocate people, separate family members, damage or destroy homes, and injury or kill people. A disaster produces a range and level of immediate suffering and basic human needs that cannot be promptly or adequately addressed by the affected people and prevents them from initiating and proceeding with recovery efforts” (American Red Cross, n.d.). A disaster is different than trauma and a crisis because it is considered an event. Disasters can be natural (e.g., hurricane, tornado) or human-made (e.g., Columbine shooting).