Military sexual trauma: current knowledge and future directions.

Until recently, the study of psychological effects of military trauma has focused nearly exclusively on the consequences of combat-related stressors such as being in the line of fire, experiencing an explosion, or suffering a physical injury. Meanwhile, sexual trauma has primarily been recognized in the forms of childhood or adult civilian abuse. Combat-related distress has largely been investigated among men, whereas sexual assault research has focused on women. As military sexual trauma (MST) bridges the gap between traumatic events historically divided between military and civilian and also between events traditionally categorized as happening to men versus women, its recognition may potentially represent a turning point in the field of traumatic stress. One of the aims we had in putting together this special issue was to provide MST researchers and clinicians with a summary of the state of MST research and a collection of some of the most up-to-date MST-related investigations representative of the directions in which this research is heading. This collection is by no means exhaustive. Many other important submissions could not be included in this special issue because of space limitations. Another aim was to facilitate continued research efforts by elucidating the gaps in the extant MST research, presenting important lines of research that