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Results for “September 11 Terrorist Attacks”

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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Consumption of cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana among New York City residents six months after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Early analyses following the September 11 terrorist attacks on New York City showed an increase in cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use, but it was unknown whether these increases would persist. A random-digit dial phone survey was conducted to estimate the prevalence of increased substance use among residents of New York City six to nine months after the attacks. Among 1570 adults, 9.9% reported an increase in smoking, 17.5% an increase in alcohol use, and 2.7% an increase in marijuana use compared to the month before September 11. These increases were comparable to increases reported in the first one to two months after September 11. Persons who increased use of cigarettes were more likely than those who did not to report symptoms consistent with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the past month (4.3% and 1.2% respectively). Depression was more common among those who increased use of cigarettes (14.6% and 5.2% respectively), alcohol (11.8% vs. 5.2%), and marijuana (34.1% vs. 5.3%). Among residents living in Manhattan below One Hundred Tenth Street, the prevalence of PTSD and depression declined by more than half in the first six months after September 11, while the increase in substance use did not decline substantially. These results suggest that the increase in substance use after a disaster may be a cause for public health concern in the long-term.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

The effect of the September 11 terrorist attacks on suicide and deliberate self-harm: a time trend study.

Suicide rates may be affected by world news. Our objective was to investigate the possible impact of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, on suicidal behavior in the Netherlands. There was evidence of an increase in rates of suicide and deliberate self-harm in the weeks immediately following the attacks. These findings contrast with Durkheim's (1897) original suggestion that suicide rates decline in times of war and outside threat but are in line with findings of increases in suicidal behavior after media coverage of lethal violence.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Psychological sequelae of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City.

BACKGROUND: The scope of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, was unprecedented in the United States. We assessed the prevalence and correlates of acute post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression among residents of Manhattan five to eight weeks after the attacks. METHODS: We used random-digit dialing to contact a representative sample of adults living south of 110th Street in Manhattan. Participants were asked about demographic characteristics, exposure to the events of September 11, and psychological symptoms after the attacks. RESULTS: Among 1008 adults interviewed, 7.5 percent reported symptoms consistent with a diagnosis of current PTSD related to the attacks, and 9.7 percent reported symptoms consistent with current depression (with "current" defined as occurring within the previous 30 days). Among respondents who lived south of Canal Street (i.e., near the World Trade Center), the prevalence of PTSD was 20.0 percent. Predictors of PTSD in a multivariate model were Hispanic ethnicity, two or more prior stressors, a panic attack during or shortly after the events, residence south of Canal Street, and loss of possessions due to the events. Predictors of depression were Hispanic ethnicity, two or more prior stressors, a panic attack, a low level of social support, the death of a friend or relative during the attacks, and loss of a job due to the attacks. CONCLUSIONS: There was a substantial burden of acute PTSD and depression in Manhattan after the September 11 attacks. Experiences involving exposure to the attacks were predictors of current PTSD, and losses as a result of the events were predictors of current depression. In the aftermath of terrorist attacks, there may be substantial psychological morbidity in the population.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Pre-attack symptomatology and temperament as predictors of children's responses to the September 11 terrorist attacks.

BACKGROUND: The aims of this study were to assess the psychological response of children following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, DC and to examine prospective predictors of children's post-attack responses. METHOD: Children's responses were assessed in a community sample of children in Seattle, Washington, participating in an ongoing study. Symptomatology and temperament assessed prior to the attacks were examined as prospective predictors of post-attack post-traumatic stress (PTS), anxiety, depression and externalizing problems. RESULTS: Children demonstrated PTS symptoms and worries at levels comparable to those in children directly experiencing disasters, with 77% of children reporting being worried, 68% being upset by reminders, and 39% having upsetting thoughts. The most common PTS symptom cluster was re-experiencing, and 8% of children met criteria consistent with PTSD. African-American children reported more avoidant PTS symptoms and being more upset by the attacks than European-American children. Girls reported being more upset than boys. Prior internalizing, externalizing, social competence and self-esteem were related to post-attack PTS; and child inhibitory control, assessed prior to the 9/11 attacks, demonstrated a trend towards an association with post-attack PTS symptoms controlling for prior levels of symptomatology. PTS predicted child-report anxiety and conduct problem symptoms at follow-up, approximately 6 months after 9/11. CONCLUSIONS: Children experiencing a major disaster at a distance or indirectly through media exposure demonstrated worries and PTS symptoms suggesting that communities need to attend to children's mental health needs in response to national or regional disasters. Pre-disaster symptomatology or low self-regulation may render children more vulnerable in response to a disaster, and immediate post-disaster responses predict subsequent symptomatology. These variables might be used in the identification of children in need of intervention.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Positive and negative changes following vicarious exposure to the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The negative effects of vicarious traumatic exposure are well known. However, less is known about potential positive changes following vicarious exposure. Respondents living in Britain (n = 108) were surveyed about their vicarious exposure to the terrorist attacks of September 11. They also completed measures of their perceptions of the events of September 11, and positive (valuing friends and family more) and negative changes (loss of meaning, greater anxiety). Results revealed that respondents who perceived the terrorist attacks to be an attack on their own values and beliefs, or the work of religious fanatics, were more likely to report positive changes. Negative and positive psychological changes were positively associated.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Elementary school children's responses 3 months after the September 11 terrorist attacks: a study in Washington, DC.

This study examined the responses of elementary school children in Washington, DC, to the September 11 terrorist attacks. Parents (primarily mothers) of children in kindergarten through Grade 6 and children in Grades 4 to 6, including 47 matched parent-child pairs, completed questionnaires regarding exposure, stress reactions, and constructive actions taken 3 months after the attacks. Parent reports and, to an even greater extent, children's self-reports revealed high levels of negative reactions to the attacks on behalf of the children. These reactions were best understood in the context of their exposure to the attacks, primarily through television news, and the reactions of and coping assistance provided by their parents. Implications for school personnel, health care professionals, and intervention efforts are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2006

Alcohol drinking problems among New York City residents after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Recent studies have shown an increase in alcohol use in New York City in the months after the September 11 terrorist attacks; thus far there have been no studies documenting changes in drinking problems. In 2002, a random digit dial phone survey was conducted of residents of New York City. This study provided us with estimates of the prevalence of alcohol drinking problems among residents of New York City 6 months after September 11 compared with the 6 months before September 11. Among 1,570 adults, the prevalence of drinking problems was 3.7% in the 6 months before September 11 and 4.2% in the 6 months after September 11. The incidence of drinking problems among those without drinking problems before September 11 was 2.2%. Persons with incident drinking problems were more likely than those without to report symptoms consistent with posttraumatic stress disorder (17.4% vs. 0.4% in those without drinking problems and 1.4% in nondrinkers), and depression (23.5% vs 5.6% vs. 4.9%, respectively) after September 11. After a disaster, a link between drinking problems and posttraumatic stress disorder or depression should be assessed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Trends of probable post-traumatic stress disorder in New York City after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

The authors investigated trends in probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) prevalence in the general population of New York City in the first 6 months after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Three random digit dialing telephone surveys of adults in progressively larger portions of the New York City metropolitan area were conducted 1 month, 4 months, and 6 months after September 11, 2001. A total of 1,008, 2,001, and 2,752 demographically representative adults were recruited in the three surveys, respectively. The current prevalence of probable PTSD related to the September 11 attacks in Manhattan declined from 7.5% (95% confidence interval: 5.7, 9.3) 1 month after September 11 to 0.6% (95% confidence interval: 0.3, 0.9) 6 months after September 11. Although the prevalence of PTSD symptoms was consistently higher among persons who were more directly affected by the attacks, a substantial number of persons who were not directly affected by the attacks also met criteria for probable PTSD. These data suggest a rapid resolution of most of the probable PTSD symptoms in the general population of New York City in the first 6 months after the attacks. The psychological consequences of a large-scale disaster in a densely populated urban area may extend beyond persons directly affected by the disaster to persons in the general population.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

Television images and psychological symptoms after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Exposure to graphic television images may exacerbate psychological symptoms in disaster situations. We tested the hypotheses that (1) more frequent viewing of television images of the September 11 terrorist attacks was associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, and that (2) direct exposure to disaster events had an interactive effect with media viewing. We recruited 1,008 adult residents of the borough of Manhattan in New York City through a random-digit-dial telephone survey conducted between October 16 and November 15, 2001. Respondents who repeatedly saw "people falling or jumping from the towers of the World Trade Center" had higher prevalence of PTSD (17.4%) and depression (14.7%) than those who did not (6.2% and 5.3%, respectively). Among respondents who were directly affected by the attacks (e.g., had a friend killed), those who watched this television image frequently were more likely to have PTSD and depression than those who did not. Among respondents not directly affected by the attacks, prevalence of PTSD and depression was not associated with frequency of television image viewing. Specific disaster-related television images were associated with PTSD and depression among persons who were directly exposed to a disaster. Future research should address causal directionality of this association.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Attachment style, empathy, and helping following a collective loss: evidence from the September 11 terrorist attacks.

This study examined the relationships between avoidant and ambivalent attachment dimensions, empathy, and helping behavior in the context of one of the most tragic examples of collective loss in the USA. US college students (314 total: 219 females, 95 males) completed questionnaires between 20 and 42 days after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Results from this correlational study confirm previous laboratory experiments finding that attachment style may be related to people's ability to experience empathy and engage in helping behavior. Following the terrorist attacks, those with lower scores on avoidant attachment (i.e., more secure individuals) reported greater empathy with the bereaved. No association was found between the anxious attachment dimension and empathy, most likely due to a curvilinear relationship. Empathy for the bereaved was significantly correlated with helping behavior. Although neither attachment dimension was directly associated with collective helping behavior, avoidant attachment was negatively and indirectly related to collective helping behavior via its relationship with empathy for the bereaved.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Cardiac sequelae in Brooklyn after the September 11 terrorist attacks.

BACKGROUND: Terrorism, such as the attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) on September 11, 2001, result in higher stress-related disorders, especially in those persons in close proximity. HYPOTHESIS: Cardiac events resulting from the September 11, 2001 tragedy have not been detailed near the WTC. METHODS: Patients admitted to the Telemetry and Coronary Care Units at New York Methodist Hospital 4 miles from the WTC 60 days prior to and after the September 11 attacks were analyzed. In all, 1,653 admissions were reviewed: 427 records pre 9/11/2001 and 422, 393, and 411 records in the post-9/11/2001, pre-9/11/2000, and post-9/11/2000 data sets, respectively. Patients were categorized based on diagnosis: acute myocardial infarction (MI), unstable angina (UA), tachyarrhythmia (TA), and others (including syncope and congestive heart failure). RESULTS: There was a significant difference in the proportion of the various cardiac diagnoses post 9/11/01 (p = 0.008 by chi-square analysis). Compared with pre 9/11/2001, there were significantly more patients with acute MI (15.5 vs. 11.2%) and TA (19.9 vs. 13.6%) but fewer with UA (39.6 vs. 47.3%) after the terrorist attacks. The distribution of cardiac events during a similar period of time in 2000 revealed no such pattern. CONCLUSIONS: There was a significant increase in acute MI and TA and a smaller increase in UA after the September 11 attacks. The difference did not appear to be due to temporal variation. It appears that stress likely contributed to an increase in TA by itself or with ischemia, resulting in progression of UA to acute MI.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

Persistent paranoid delusions following the September 11 terrorist attacks in a man with no pre-existing mental illness.

The effects of modern day terrorism on mental health are not well understood. Described here is a 51-year-old male with no pre-existing mental illness who developed paranoid delusions related to the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks shortly after they occurred. After about two years of treatment with quetiapine the patient was no longer delusional about terrorism but experienced extensive paranoid delusions about commonly encountered persons, requiring treatment which continues to the current time. Clinicians should be aware of the possible impact of terrorist activities on the mental health of vulnerable individuals.

Anxiety↗
PubMed2003

Posttraumatic stress in women after the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York City.

BACKGROUND: Women have been shown to be at higher risk than men of developing posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after traumatic events. Women in New York City were more likely than men to have probable PTSD 5-8 weeks after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center. We explored the factors that could explain the higher prevalence of probable PTSD among women in the aftermath of the attacks. METHODS: Data from a telephone survey of a randomly selected group of residents of Manhattan living south of 110th street, conducted 5-8 weeks after September 11, were used in these analyses. The survey assessed demographic information, lifetime experience of traumatic events, life stressors, social support, event exposure variables, perievent panic attacks, postevent concerns, and probable PTSD related to the attacks. We determined the contribution of key covariates that could explain the gender-probable PTSD relation through stratified analyses and manual stepwise logistic regression model building. RESULTS: Among 988 respondents, women were two times more likely than men to report symptoms consistent with probable PTSD after the September 11 attacks. When adjusted for potential confounders, the association between gender and probable PTSD diminished from OR = 2.2 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3-3.6) to OR = 1.2 (95% CI 0.7-2.2). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that specific behavioral and biographic factors (including previous traumatic experiences and psychological disorders, social responsibilities, and perievent emotional reactions) explained most of the excess burden of probable PTSD among women after a disaster. Isolating the characteristics that place women at greater risk for probable PTSD after disasters can inform public health prevention strategies and spur further research.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Fear of terrorism in New York after the September 11 terrorist attacks: implications for emergency mental health and preparedness.

To examine the public's response to future terrorist attacks, we surveyed 1,001 New Yorkers in the community one year after the September 11 attacks. Overall, New Yorkers were very concerned about future terrorist attacks and also concerned about attacks involving biological or nuclear weapons. In addition, while most New Yorkers reported that if a biological or nuclear attack occurred they would evaluate available information before evacuating, a significant number reported they would immediately evacuate, regardless of police or public health communications to the contrary. The level of public concern was significantly higher on all measures among New York City and Long Island residents (downstate) compared to the rest of the state. A model predicting higher fear of terrorism indicated that downstate residents, women, those 45 to 64 years old, African Americans and Hispanics, those with less education/income, and those more likely to flee, were more fearful of future attacks. In addition, making disaster preparations and carefully evaluating emergency information also predicted a higher level of fear as well. A second model predicting who would flee suggested that those more likely to evaluate available information were less likely to immediately evacuate, while those with a higher fear of future attacks were more likely to flee the area. Given these findings and the possibility of future attacks, mental health professionals need to be more involved in preparedness efforts, especially related to the psychological impact of attacks involving weapons of mass destruction.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Negative symptoms, anger, and social support: response of an inpatient sample to news coverage of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

We examined the reactions of 17 male inpatients on a secure psychiatric unit to television news coverage of the September 11 attacks. All had psychotic diagnoses. We hypothesized that self-exposure and affective response to the news coverage and use of social support would be influenced by predominance of negative symptoms. Additionally, we examined for the emergence of common stress symptoms and exacerbations of psychosis. Results showed a dose-response relationship between amount of viewing and magnitude of response to the coverage. Anger was the emotion most clearly tied to coverage exposure and the other response variables. A wide range of stress symptoms was reported. Hypotheses concerning the influence of negative symptoms were partially supported. A significant minority of the patients disclosed exacerbation of psychotic symptoms in response to the attacks. Patients who reported a negative emotional reaction were more likely to talk to others about the attacks, but social contact did not predictably lead to affective relief.

Adult↗