Trajectories of psychological functioning are assessed over time following an acute potentially traumatic event, often using statistical modeling approaches like latent growth mixture modeling and latent class growth analysis. Commonly identified trajectories of distress-related symptoms following a traumatic event include chronic dysfunction (consistently elevated symptoms), delayed onset (elevated symptoms following a significant delay in time), recovery (initial elevated symptoms that gradually recover or improve), and resilience (stable psychological health before and after the traumatic event).
Reference: Galatzer-Levy, I. R., Huang, S. H., & Bonanno, G. A. (2018). Trajectories of resilience and dysfunction following potential trauma: A review and statistical evaluation. Clin Psychol Rev, 63, 41-55. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2018.05.008