The utility of criterion a under chronic national terror

According to DsM-iV-tR, both an objective and a subjective exposure component (a1 and a2 criteria, respectively) are required in order to qualify for a Postraumatic stress Disorder (PtsD) diagnosis. one proposed DsM-5 change is that Criterion a be more explicitly defined and made purely objective. the DSM and the ICD appear to be largely products of the north American and European societies and, therefore, may be culturally-biased. Compared with other societies, the later are not exposed to chronic national traumatic stress. therefore, the current structure of Criterion a may be especially relevant to single traumatic incidents, rather than to chronic national scale. The current review raises the question of whether the proposed DsM-5 changes to Criterion a are congruent with the reality of nations where exposure to terror is persistent, constant and of national proportions.