The Creeping Concept of Trauma

Over the past century, the concept of trauma has substantially broadened its meanings in academic and public discourse. We document four directions in which this semantic expansion has occurred at different times: from somatic to psychic, extraordinary to ordinary, direct to indirect, and individual...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Social research Vol. 87; no. 3; pp. 509 - 531
Main Authors: Haslam, Nick, McGrath, Melanie J
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: New York Johns Hopkins University Press 01.09.2020
New School for Social Research
Subjects:
Addictions
Addictive behaviors
Analysis
Bullying
Case studies
Concepts
Cultural identity
Cultural psychology
Group identity
Inflation
Mental disorders
Prejudice
Psychic trauma
Psychology
Salience
Self concept
Semantics
Social aspects
Trauma
United States
ISSN:0037-783X, 1944-768X, 1944-768X
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Over the past century, the concept of trauma has substantially broadened its meanings in academic and public discourse. We document four directions in which this semantic expansion has occurred at different times: from somatic to psychic, extraordinary to ordinary, direct to indirect, and individual to collective. We analyze these expansions as instances of "concept creep," the progressive inflation of harm-related concepts, and present evidence for the rising cultural salience and semantic enlargement of trauma in recent decades. Expansive concepts of trauma may have mixed blessings for personal and collective identity.
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ISSN:0037-783X
1944-768X
1944-768X
DOI:10.1353/sor.2020.0052