Abstract

Research on trauma has significantly expanded in the last four decades. As research has expanded, it has become more complex and integrative in nature. Little research, however, has focused on the effect of different types of natural disasters or the complex nature of social support after trauma. There also has been increasing interest on the interaction of pain and trauma sparked by the soldiers returning from combat duty (Walker et. al. 2010). Direct line medical personnel often need specific research questions answered on how to best serve a population, with a unique set of problems, in a given community. This paper investigates the current research on specific types of natural disaster and links to chronic pain and post traumatic stress response. It also reviews two frequently researched areas that mitigate the trauma response. These are social support and self-efficacy. These act on both the trauma response and the experience of chronic pain in common but also unique ways depending on each event (Luszczynska 2009).