Conclusions and Future Directions

Abstract In the preface to this volume, we briefly considered some of the factors that have in recent years helped traumatic stress become a relatively unitary field of its own. We also noted that some circumstances, the nature of which are not completely clear to us, have to some extent impeded this progress. In this final section, we have two goals. First, we reflect upon the breadth and variety of trauma research in both its content and methods and discuss how this breadth relates to the progression of traumatic stress research as a distinct scholarly endeavor. Second, we review what we believe are some of the important future directions in traumatic stress research as the field continues to build upon its present foundations.