How Common is Trauma?

• The prevalence of people with histories of trauma is high (including those accessing health care and those working in health care).
• A large body of research estimates that between 55-90% of the population has experienced one or more forms of trauma in their lives (CDC & Kaiser Permanente, 1995-2011; Harris & Fallot, 2009; Farro et al., 2011).
• In a community-based mental health clinic in the US, researchers found that 90% of their 505 clients had been exposed to trauma (Cusack et al., 2004).
• In a Canadian study, 76% of participants identified being exposed to at least 1 traumatic event in their lifetime (Van Ameringen et al., 2008).
• As such, we need to presume the clients we serve may have a history of traumatic stress and exercise “universal precautions” by creating systems of care that are trauma-informed (Hodas, 2005).

For more research resources please visit the Resource page.