Traumas are a class of stressful experiences that can have long-lasting negative effects on health (Stam 2007; Pearlin et al. 2005), that have been neglected in the discrimination literature. Traumas are distinct from life events in that they capture events that are extreme, overwhelming and horrific in impact. It is likely that traumatic experiences are reported on some of the life events-like measures of discrimination but inadequate detail is ascertained to distinguish them from less severe experiences. Carter (2007) has emphasized the importance of assessing race-based traumatic experiences as distinct from major experiences of discrimination. He argues that because there is likely to be intense emotional reaction to these severe, life threatening or dangerous experiences, they have great potential for psychological injury.
