Citation

Poulin MJ, Silver RC, Gil-Rivas V, Holman EA, McIntosh DN. J. Trauma. Stress 2009; 22(2): 81-90.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, State University of New York-Buffalo, Buffalo, NY.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1002/jts.20391

PMID

19283834

Abstract

Individuals frequently perceive positive changes in themselves following adversity; after a collective trauma, they may perceive such benefits in others or in their society as well. We examined perceived benefits of the September 11, 2001 (9/11) terrorist attacks in a 3-year study of a national sample of adults (N = 1382). Many individuals (57.8%) perceived social benefits of 9/11, including increased prosocial behavior, religiousness, or political engagement. Individuals who found increased national religiosity as a benefit 2 months post-9/11 reported greater positive affect and life satisfaction and lower distress and posttraumatic stress up to 3 years post-9/11. Pre-9/11 religiousness and Republican political affiliation predicted perceiving religion-related social benefits post-9/11. Perceptions of social change are important but understudied responses to stressful events.

Language: en