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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Anxiety and Stress Disorders
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1558085
This article is part of the Research Topic Bidirectional links between psychological trauma and physical symptoms: pathophysiology, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment View all 4 articles
The Age of Trauma: The Prevalence and Psychological Impact of Potentially Traumatic Exposures in South Korea
Provisionally accepted- 1 School of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- 2 Department of Psychology, Keimyung University, Daegu, Daegu, Republic of Korea
- 3 KU Mind Health Institute, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- 4 Mindeep Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Background: Exposure to potentially traumatic events (PTE) is associated with a range of negative mental health outcomes, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and complex PTSD (cPTSD).Although exposure to PTEs is highly prevalent, and their impact on mental health is pervasive, research is mostly limited to diagnosed populations or specific trauma cohorts in the post-pandemic era.Methods: We conducted an online survey of 1,000 Seoul residents from October 6-12, 2023, using a stratified sampling method. Participants were asked about their traumatic experiences, mental health outcomes, and experiences with mental health services.Results: Most participants (98.8%) reported that they had experienced at least one PTE. The average number of PTEs reported was 9.19 (SD=7.908). Ninety participants (9%) were categorized as having probable PTSD (2.8% with PTSD only, and 6.2% with cPTSD). The sum of direct and indirect exposures to PTEs of individuals was associated with mental health outcomes, including PTSD symptom severity.Only 34.4% of patients with probable PTSD reported that they had received appropriate mental health services.Our results suggest that PTE exposures are highly prevalent, and self-awareness of mental health conditions and utilization of mental health services are low in South Korea. Given the lasting effects of traumatic events and the large number of untreated cases, this study highlights the need for proactive responses to traumatic events and better access to short-and long-term services for traumatized individuals.
Keywords: PTSD(Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder), CPTSD, PTE (Potentially Traumatic Event), Prevalence, Comorbidity
Received: 09 Jan 2025; Accepted: 14 Feb 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Son, Jang, Hong, Park, Choi and Choi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Gaeun Son, School of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Kee-Hong Choi, School of Psychology, College of Liberal Arts, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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