ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an approach that is predicated on the assumption that many variables typically available for assessment in the aftermath of disaster vary in their accessibility, function, psychometric properties, and overall value for theory building and intervention planning. It explore four fundamental issues relating to the effective conceptualization, assessment, and treatment of trauma-exposed populations in the aftermath of disaster. The chapter provides many sources that used the term retraumatization, often as a core subject; and identifies any published sources that provided a definitive conceptual definition. It reports the results of two preliminary empirical studies designed to address two questions pertaining to the conceptualization and correlates of posttraumatic distress reactivation, respectively. The chapter proposes the theoretical and methodological relevance of the mechanisms underlying posttraumatic distress reactivation. It describes the need to adopt dynamic, processoriented conceptual frameworks for explicating the mechanisms through which focal traumatic events interface with pre-, peri-, and posttraumatic contextual variables to influence posttraumatic adaptation.
