Trauma Research: Contemporary Under-Studied Areas of Scholarly Investigation 

Chris Piotrowski 

The study of psychological trauma and associated stressors has attracted extensive scholarly attention in the social sciences. The current investigation utilized a bibliometric approach to         examine recent topical investigatory coverage across 3 prominent journals in the field of trauma psychology: Traumatology, Journal of Traumatic Stress, and Psychological Trauma. The main focus was to determine topical areas that attract sparse coverage in these publications over recent years. The content analysis identified copious topics that represent less than 1% of the peer-reviewed studies across the 3 datasets of published articles. Most noteworthy: acute stress disorder, polytrauma, cumulative trauma, mass/school shootings, the disabled, catastrophizing, sexual harassment, divorce, poverty, and pre-existing conditions. These findings should a) illuminate our understanding of under-studied areas in trauma research, b) promote the use of multi-database search strategies during the literature review process, and c) provide a catalyst and descriptive framework for further bibliometric research on the sub-field of trauma psychology.  

Introduction: 

        The study of psychological trauma encompasses a broad spectrum of investigatory topics and research streams. A review of the literature indicates that the repository of scholarships in the general area of trauma studies is rather voluminous. An online keyword search in the database PsycINFO, using the term trauma, reveals 45,000 articles and 6,500 dissertations. Moreover, copious scholarly books on the general field of traumatic stress and disaster studies have appeared in recent decades (e.g., Catherall, 2013; Fink, 2010; Gold, 2017, 2020; Reyes & Jacobs, 2006; Rodriguez, 2007). Noteworthy, the study of traumatology has evolved and gained prominence in the social sciences and there is now an APA Division 56 (Trauma Psychology). Thus, appreciating the nature of the intellectual structure of this extensive repository of scientific knowledge is a worthy academic endeavor. Historically, the study of megatrends on individual topics in the social and behavioral sciences has attracted much attention from researchers (Blake et al., 1992; Katzell, 1994; Piotrowski, 2021, 2023). One approach to gaining an understanding of the breadth and scope of select research domains is the use of bibliometric methods which provide data on the intellectual structure regarding scientific research activity (or the lack thereof). Indeed, bibliometric analyses on a variety of subject areas in psychology have been reported in the scholarly literature, presenting a detailed analysis of important facets of research studies, such as investigatory areas of study, theoretical approaches, methodologies, measures, type of data analyses, author affiliation, and under-represented areas of investigation. While the majority of bibliometric studies focus on reviews of areas specific to prominent topics of interest in the field (e.g., Bamel, 2020; Zha et al., 2020), a minority of research examines the nature and content of scholarship evident in specific journal outlets (e.g., Piotrowski, 2012, 2016). 

        Recently, Piotrowski (2024), in a bibliometric analysis of the APA journal Traumatology, identified the most prominent topics investigated by researchers, i.e., mental health treatment, PTSD in veterans, natural disasters, resilience, posttraumatic growth, childhood traumas, and secondary/vicarious trauma. Yet an examination of scientific literature provides scant data on salient subject matter related to trauma that is largely ignored by either researchers or the editorship of leading journals in the field. To address this void in extant repositories of scholarship, the current study performed a bibliometric analysis of 3 leading journals on the issue of trauma in order to determine subject areas which receive scant research attention. Identifying under-represented investigatory topics across specialty periodicals should a) call attention to shortcomings with regard to the scope of research coverage, and b) provide incentive for expanding the breadth of research interest that reflects a more holistic overview of the emerging field of trauma psychology. 

Method: 

        Bibliometric analysis offers a methodology in determining a systematic description of the scholarly productivity of individual research streams (Krippendorff, 2004; Maltseva & Batagelj, 2020), including the field of psychology (e.g., Hooper et al., 2017; Piotrowski, 2012, 2016). Moreover, research productivity on select topics can be determined by assessing publication trends in specialty journals. The current study sought to obtain a comprehensive overview of the field of trauma psychology. To that end, it was decided to perform a content analysis of 3 prominent periodicals with a specific focus on the study of psychological aspects of trauma: Traumatology, the Journal of Traumatic Stress, and Psychological Trauma, which assured coverage of emergent research. The review entailed only peer-reviewed articles. The objective was to determine the main focus of each reference from the perspective of the study‟s investigator(s). Based on these parameters, all studies were reviewed and the author (C.P.) tagged each reference with a sole descriptor that best represented the main focus of study. A frequency tally, across individual subject categories, was maintained and then summed for each topic. (Full reports on the major topics of study, across the 3 journals, are available from the author). 

Study 1 examined articles in the journal Traumatology, for years 2011-2024 inclusive. The review comprised 640 references of which 17 were erratum/corrections, editorials, or comments/replies. Thus, the Total Dataset was 623 articles. Some of these data are reported in Piotrowski (2025). 

Study 2 examined articles in the Journal of Traumatic Stress, for years 2018-2024 inclusive. The review comprised 774 references of with 39 were erratum/corrections, editorials, or comments/replies. Thus, the Total Dataset was 735 articles. 

Study 3 examined the most recent 1,000 articles in the journal Psychological Trauma, for years 20202024 inclusive. Of these, 28 were erratum/corrections, editorials, or comments/replies. Thus, the Total Dataset was 972 articles. 

Findings: Neglected Areas of Study  

        Overall, the analysis indicated a rather extensive list of topics representing less than 1% of the dataset of articles across all 3 journals (see Table 1). The analysis revealed the startling fact that copious areas have been under-studied across all these periodicals with a specific research attention to trauma psychology. Historically, the ebb and flow regarding the prominence of specific research topics is a function of a complex interplay of multiple factors (e.g., methodological advances, evolving constructs, cross-disciplinary collaboration, funding availability). Moreover, research attention to investigatory subject matter can fall out-of-favor for a myriad of reasons (saturation of published studies, shifting paradigms, lack of theoretical advances). Although the topics listed in Table 1 may be deemphasized across these specific journals, research on these subject areas is quite evident in the general psychological literature (e.g., Figley, 2010; Fried et al., 2018; Hansen et al., 2017; McCormack et al., 2022; Zell & Stockus, 2024). One noteworthy topic is acute stress disorder (ASD). As noted in Table 2, ASD has well over 200 studies indexed in PsycINFO, based on a keyword search. Yet this salient investigatory area seems to be under-represented across the 3 trauma-related journals in the current analysis. The reason for this is rather inexplicable. Moreover, modern popular topics such as virtual reality and artificial intelligence receive but scant investigatory focus in trauma psychology research. Perhaps, researchers may incorporate these areas in their research designs in the near future.  

        Furthermore, the cumulative impact of multiple traumas over-time should attract research attention as human populations are increasingly besieged by both natural/technological disasters and dire social conditions in the modern era (see Buckley et al., 2024 for a discussion). The study of poly-trauma appears to be focused on veteran populations, although there is limited research on multiple injuries incurred in motor vehicle accidents. The contemporary impact of emergent technology (e.g., cyberbullying; Piotrowski & Watt, 2024) should also be recognized as a potential long-term initiator of stress on human populations. Finally, while mass shootings (particularly school shootings) have received prominent media attention in the U.S. over the past two decades, this topic has received but scant scholarly coverage in these 3 trauma journals. 

Table 1. Under-studied Topical Areas Across 3 ‘Trauma’ Journals 

Note: Topics representing less than 1% of the Total Dataset for each individual journal. 

Literature Search of PsycINFO 

        It would be informative to conduct an online Keyword search in PsycINFO, using a Boolean strategy where the terms trauma and specific topic noted in Table 1 form the search strategy. This would provide a gauge on the extent of research articles on specific topics related to trauma that are indexed in the general psychological literature. Table 2 displays the reference output for several of the „understudied‟ topics that appear in Table 1. These results clearly indicate that these topics are rather salient issues related to the domain of trauma and are frequently the focus of research attention. Then why are these integral topics in the study of trauma under-represented across the 3 trauma journals in this analysis? Admittedly, many of these topics may not be the main focus of study but may be critical secondary or mediator variables in the research strategy or design intended by investigators. Also, some of these topics may not attract editorial board attention as critical subject matter for the need for a „Special issue‟. 

Table 2.  Keyword Search in PsycINFO 

Conclusion: 

        A major outcome of the current study is the identification of copious subject areas largely neglected or under-studied across 3 prominent journals with a research focus on the psychological aspects of trauma. Whether this finding is attributed to investigatory disinterest or editorial board preferences is a matter of conjecture (Aguinis et al., 2021). Moreover, variability of subject area coverage may be a function of intended scope of scholarship outlined by individual journals. Despite these parameters, the current investigation seems to verify that research in the field of trauma studies is emergent in nature, yet recognition of under-represented areas of study is crucial to paving the way for future directions for scholarly exploration. Hence, expanding the breadth of research interests would affirm a more holistic overview of the emerging field of trauma psychology. Based on these findings, researchers are urged to adopt a multi-database search strategy when conducting the initial literature search (see Angier & Epstein, 1980; Joliboius et al., 2000; Perdue & Piotrowski, 1991; Piotrowski & Perdue, 2003), rather than limiting their search to select journals in the trauma field. Overall, the current findings should a) illuminate under-studied areas in the scholarly study of trauma, b) support the use of multi-database searches during the literature review process, and c) provide a descriptive framework for the study of investigatory trends on the subject matter of trauma psychology. Finally, potential differences in international publication trends with regard to scholarship on trauma would be a worthy area of study (Bedard et al., 2004).  

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