When Topics Diverge but Meaning Persists: A Conceptual Framework for Trauma-Linked Cross-Domain Coherence

Research on trauma-related language has often examined explicit trauma narratives, lexical markers, semantic coherence, autobiographical memory specificity, and automated screening or classification of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Many of these approaches treat the sentence, narrative, interview, or linguistic feature as the principal unit of analysis. The present article proposes a complementary construct: trauma-linked cross-domain coherence (TLCDC). TLCDC refers to a hypothesised recurrence of affective-relational structure across semantically heterogeneous topics, autobiographical periods, behavioural domains, and interpersonal contexts. Under this framework, discourse may show limited topical continuity while retaining similarity in recurring expectations or propositions concerning safety, threat, agency, dependence, care, control, trust, need, or vulnerability. The framework was generated from a single naturally occurring observation and subsequently developed through engagement with adjacent empirical literatures; the originating observation is treated solely as hypothesis-generating and is not presented as evidence. Four levels of coherence are distinguished: topical, affective, affective-relational, and cross-domain. The article proposes an illustrative operational model, empirically testable hypotheses, and a longitudinal research programme combining discourse analysis, computational linguistics, clinical assessment, and, where ethically appropriate, independently measured behavioural and physiological outcomes. Particular attention is given to confounding, cultural variation, competing explanations, privacy, and retrospective overinterpretation. TLCDC is proposed not as a diagnostic marker or screening tool, but as a research framework for examining whether apparently disconnected material can show recurrent affective-relational organisation beyond what topic similarity alone would predict.