Exploring Psychological Reactions to 9/11

In the wake of a national tragedy or terrorist attack, knowing how to deploy resources to help people at risk for ongoing distress is critical.  Recent work by researchers at HHD’s Center for Research on High Risk Behaviors addresses this topic – and the results of their study underscore the need for public service campaigns to encourage people with ongoing distress to seek mental health services. 

Dr. Gail Agronick and her HHD colleagues used data from Reach for Health, a decade-long longitudinal study that has followed over 1000 New York City youth from early adolescence to young adulthood.  Participants completed surveys about 6-9 months after 9/11, when they were about 19 years old.  The researchers examined whether exposure to the attacks of September 11th – seeing the attacks live; being injured or having a family member or close friend injured killed or missing; or losing a job or income as a result of the attack – was related to different types of subsequent psychological distress. They also asked: Was psychological distress related to 9/11 exposure greater among young adults who had prior histories of such problems? 

As expected, young adults with greater exposure to the 9/11 attacks were significantly more likely to report post-attack anger, hopelessness, symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and global distress than those without direct exposure.  Almost half reported at least one persistent PTSD symptom.  Surprisingly, the team found that the relationship between exposure and subsequent psychological distress was the same among those who did—and did not—report psychological distress in earlier waves of the survey. 

Agronick, lead author of this research paper and Senior Research Associate at HHD, believes the results of this study have important implications for future mental health policy and practice. 

“It is important to recognize that many people, whether or not they have had mental health problems in the past, may experience psychological distress as the result of such a traumatic event.  Public health campaigns should strive to normalize seeking psychological help by underscoring that emotional reactions to traumatic events are common.  It may be particularly important to mount such campaigns among populations, such as economically-disadvantaged minority young men and women, like our study participants, who may not use mental health services for a variety of reasons, including lack of health insurance, stigma, and cultural mistrust.”

To learn more about this or other Center for Research on High Risk Behavior projects, please contact Gail Agronick, phone 617-618-2322.

September 17 , 2007