Counseling Men With Trauma Histories: Developing Foundational Knowledge

Addressing Ethical Issues in Studying Men’s Traumatic Stress

“…Research estimates that 60.7% of men will experience a major traumatic event in their lifetime, 1 and of these, between 3.2% and 65% will develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). 2 Trauma often poses unique challenges to men's sense of self 3 and has been shown to disrupt culturally prescribed masculine ideals of strength, resilience, and invulnerability. 4 The spectrum of effects is illustrated in data that shows that 65% of men who are raped develop PTSD, whereas only 3.2% of men who experience a motor vehicle accident develop PTSD.…”

“…5 That is, trauma context heavily mediates damage to men's gendered identities and practices. 2 Within the last several decades, a significant number of empirical studies have focused on ethical issues in traumatic stress research, to assist researchers and Institutional Review Boards/Research Ethics Boards (IRBs/REBs). Topics have included risks and benefits, 6 beneficence and non-maleficence, 7 and informed consent.…”