Which experiences are most likely to precipitate posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) ? (Select all that apply.)

A) An 8-year-old child watches an R-rated movie with both parents.
B) A young adult jumps from a bridge with a bungee cord with a best friend.
C) An adolescent is kidnapped and held for 2 years in the home of a sexual predator.
D) A passenger is in a bus that overturns on a sharp curve in the road, tumbling down an embankment.
E) An adult is trapped for 3 hours at an angle in an elevator after a portion of the supporting cable breaks.

PTSD usually follows a traumatic event that is outside the range of usual experience. Examples are childhood physical abuse, torture or kidnapping, military combat, sexual assault, and natural disasters such as floods, tornados, earthquakes, and tsunamis; human disasters such as a bus or elevator accident or crime-related events such being taken hostage are additional examples. The common element in these experiences is the individual's extraordinary helplessness or powerlessness in the face of such stressors. Bungee jumping by adolescents is part of the developmental task and might be frightening but in an exhilarating way rather than a harmful way. A child may be disturbed by an R-rated movie, but the presence of the parents would modify the experience in a positive way.