justment for traumatic exposu re and demographic variables.
Development and Course
PTSD can occur at any age, beginning after th e first year of life. Symptoms usually begin
within the first 3 months after the trauma, although there may be a delay of months, or
even years, before criteria for the diagnosis  are met. There is abundant evidence for what
DSM-IV called “delayed onset” but is now call ed “delayed expression,” with the recogni-
tion that some symptoms typically appear immediately and that the delay is in meeting