Trauma exposure describes contact with a potentially traumatic event, rather than the person's entire subsequent psychological response. Research must specify the event definition, mode of exposure, timing and repetition. Direct experience, witnessing and learning about an event are not interchangeable exposure histories.
In the diagnostic framework summarized by the National Center for PTSD, qualifying exposure is only one part of the requirements for post-traumatic stress disorder. A history of an event does not by itself establish the disorder: the required symptom pattern and other diagnostic conditions must also be present.[ref]
PTSD and DSM-5 by National Center for PTSD. DSM-5 Criteria for PTSD, Criterion A and the statement that all diagnostic criteria are required
This separation also matters in an observational study. Recording exposure before measuring later symptoms helps establish temporal order, but it does not remove confounding or show that every exposed person has the same outcome. Event checklists, detailed interviews and retrospective reports provide different kinds of information and can differ in what they count as an exposure.
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