Abstract: Acute stress disorder refers to stress reactions that occur between 2 days and 4 weeks after an individual has experienced, witnessed, or been confronted by a traumatic incident which is a threat of death or serious injury of oneself or others. The symptoms of acute stress disorder are separation, reexperiencing, avoidance, and over-vigilance. This article reviews the previous relevant studies of acute stress disorder and overviews from the aspects of measurement evaluation methods, incidence, the relationship between posttraumatic stress disorder and trauma memories, mental intervention. At last, this article highlights its possible future study direction.

Key words: trauma, acute stress disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder